


How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

by Takara_Phoenix



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (aside from miiinor changes to Ragnarok), Anal, Bottom Tony, Civil War Team Iron Man, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Oral, PTSD, Past Child Abuse, Post-Black Panther (2018), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Team Building, Team as Family, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony builds himself a new team, Tony-centric, Top Loki, because I want Tony to meet his stepdaughter Hela, because she's Marvel's OC daughter of Odin, compliant to everything aside from Infinity War really, laaater on also smut, meaning Hela wasn't the bad guy, not team Cap friendly, not wanda maximoff friendly, one that is functional and can be trusted, slow-burn, so instead I threw Aldrif under the bus, so why the heck not, you bet your asses I'm STILL salty about Civil War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-19 21:42:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 54,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14881745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takara_Phoenix/pseuds/Takara_Phoenix
Summary: Post Civil War, Tony has to build a new team of Avengers.Aside from new recruits, there are also two well-known Avengers that return to Earth – with a ship full of refugees. New and more functional Avengers rise from the ashes of the old and new alliances, new friendships and even new relationships are formed.Though the biggest wild-card proves to be Loki, not entirely unexpected.





	1. The List

Avengers || FrostIron || How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful || FrostIron || Avengers

Title: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – New and Improved Avengers

Fandom: Marvel | Avengers

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Marvel Comics for the creation of some of the most awesome heroes ever. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: m/m, not Infinity War compliant, team as family, team building, fluff, PTSD, hurt/comfort, past child abuse, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, m/f, f/f

Main Pairing: Loki/Tony

Side Pairings: Valkyrie/Sif, Bruce/Jane, Rhodey/Carol, Happy/Pepper, T'Challa/Ororo

Characters:

  * New Avengers: Tony Stark | Iron Man, James 'Rhodey' Rhodes | War Machine, Carol Danvers | Captain Marvel, Hope van Dyne | Wasp, Vision, Sif, Brunnhilde | Valkyrie, Loki, Thor, Bruce Banner | Hulk, Sharon Carter | Agent 13, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis


  * Junior Avengers: Peter Parker | Spider-Man, Shuri, Hela Lokisdottir, Miles Morales | Kid Arachnid, Edward 'Ned' Leeds, Harley Keener


  * Allies: Stephen Strange | Doctor Strange, T'Challa | Black Panther, Ororo Munroe | Storm, Okoye, Heimdall, Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, Happy Hogan, James 'Bucky' Barnes, Scott Lang | Ant-Man


  * Ex-Vengers: Steven 'Steve' Rogers | Captain America, Natasha Romanova | Black Widow, Clinton 'Clint' Barton | Hawkeye, Samuel 'Sam' Wilson | Falcon, Wanda Maximoff | Scarlet Witch



Summary: Post _Civil War_ , Tony has to build a new team of Avengers. Aside from new recruits, there are also two well-known Avengers that return to Earth – with a ship full of refugees. New and more functional Avengers rise from the ashes of the old and new alliances, new friendships and even new relationships are formed. Though the biggest wild-card proves to be Loki, not entirely unexpected.

**How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful**

_New and Improved Avengers_

_Chapter 1: The List_

Tony was holding a glass of whiskey in one hand, twirling it. He had been holding it for two hours now. He hadn't taken a sip yet. He had been sober for years now. But the thought...

 _He is my friend_.

And the feeling of the shield coming down on his chest, breaking the armor and effectively breaking the fragile reconstructed bones in his sternum. He reached out with his other hand to tap the ARC reactor, newly put back in to hold his chest and keep him going.

He heaved a deep sigh as he looked at the list in front of him. Paper. No fancy holograms. Just simple, old-fashioned paper. A list. A short list. A _pathetic_ list. Three columns.

  * Steve
  * Natasha
  * Clint
  * Sam
  * Wanda
  * Scott Lang



Wanted fugitives. Wanted _terrorists_. Former Avengers. People he had trusted – well, most of them at least – and who had betrayed him. Him and the team. He closed his eyes for a long moment.

  * (Rhodey)
  * Vision
  * (Peter)



The other column. The Avengers who still remained. Rhodey was still struggling with his recovery. Peter was just a teen. Tony was torn about him. In theory, putting him on the roster would be the right decision – because a team didn't just mean that Peter had to come when they called to risk his life. A team would mean that the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man would have a team to back _him_ up. Someone he could call for help when he uncovered something too large to handle. Like, for example, the Vulture. Tony wished he would have been more available – but SI had been facing serious repercussions in the aftermath of the so-called Civil War to the point where Tony had to sell the Avengers Tower (granted, he also _wanted_ to sell the blasted reminder of what had been). In an ideal situation, there would have been an actual _team_ and while Tony was busy with SI, another Avenger could have come to aid Peter. _That_ was what a team _should_ do for each other.

That had never worked with the Avengers before though, that was never what the Avengers had been – and maybe that had been the root of their problems from the get-go. When Thor had returned to Earth after the whole Chitauri incident, he hadn't called _any_ of the Avengers, he had dealt with the problem with the Dark Elves (Tony was _still_ doubtful about that) alone with Jane and not long ago, there had been selfies from students posted online with Thor, who had _again_ not called. Whenever Tony had faced a personal crisis, like the Mandarin, well, he couldn't find it in himself to ask his team for help either. When Steve found out Bucky was still alive and that HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD, he had taken it on alone with Natasha and Sam – and well, perhaps Tony should have seen that as a warning sign too. They had been thrown together without even knowing each other, in a crisis. And then, they had only come together again for the next crisis. There had been no team-building, no trust. Solo acts. Like Bruce just fucking off to who-knew-where.

Maybe that had always been the problem with the Avengers? They had never been a team. They had been a group of people put together out of convenience and nothing more. Tony's grip on his glass tightened, his hand shaking. Taking a deep breath, he put the glass down.

"Boss. You have an incoming call", announced FRIDAY.

Tony paused, blinking slowly. "I told you, I'm not... available."

"It's King T'Challa", informed FRIDAY.

Instinctively, Tony balled a fist, crumbling the chart. The list of Avengers. When the Black Panther had joined Tony's side during the Civil War, Tony had seen a _chance_ for him to become an Avenger. But T'Challa had turned his back quickly for his own agenda and when it turned out he had been set up, he turned his back again. Flying off with Steve and Bucky, leaving Tony behind in the snow.

"Put him through", gritted Tony out.

Tony was no longer going to put his issues aside. He was going to face them. After everything with Steve, Tony was no longer going to let things sit. He stared head-on at T'Challa as the king's image appeared in front of him. Tony put on a suave smile.

"Simba, what can I do for you?", asked Tony nonchalantly.

"I feel like the two of us should talk", offered T'Challa calmly.

"It's been a couple of weeks. What has changed that you have something to say to me?", asked Tony, genuinely curious as he tilted back in his chair.

"I've been thinking about how things had gone down", started T'Challa, a strange emotion clouding his eyes. "Things... didn't go according to plan. And after I learned that Sargent Barnes, while not the murderer of my father is responsible for the death of your parents, I felt like there are things..."

Tony sighed and shook his head, prompting the king to pause. "I know he isn't. I know he was _used_. I know my anger aimed at _him_ was as misplaced as that of Maximoff personally blaming me for her parents' death. He was used. But, at the time, being faced with the _video evidence_ , reliving..."

"I understand", offered T'Challa gently and Tony found himself believing that. "You were enraged, in that moment. As I was after my father had died. On a wild hunt, not thinking clearly. That is why I wished to give you some time to cool down before we would talk."

"Are you hiding them all?", asked Tony bluntly.

"No", replied T'Challa, honestly. "I took in Barnes, to _help_ him. To repent for my own... wrong judgment. But Wakanda does not take in wanted terrorists. And just because I wish to rekindle the injustice done to Sargent Barnes does not mean my stance on the Accords changed. As my father too, I still support the essentials of the Accords. They need amendments, they are _far_ from perfect, but... After what I witnessed during the Civil War, as the press calls it, I feel the Accords are needed more than ever, Mister Stark. It was a personal disagreement among the team and it led to the mindless destruction of an entire airport and all vehicles and planes on it. In a foreign country where the _American_ Avengers had no business. What Captain Rogers wanted was a free pass to come and go, to 'save lives', but that quarrel? There was no villain, there were no civilians being saved. It was an act of selfishness on all sides and _no one_ should be able to walk away from such a thing unpunished. We have powers and abilities that make us physically superior to most civilians – but if we use those powers without any control, we would not be better than bullies."

"Fair points", offered Tony vaguely. "But what is the reason for your call, Puss in Boots?"

"Now that the dust has settled, I wanted to reach out to you. I want to work on the Accords with you, Mister Stark, and...", T'Challa paused and swallowed. "Now that I am the Black Panther, _fully_ , and that Wakanda is opening up to the world, at the same time that two thirds of the Avengers have become wanted fugitives, I need you to know that I, personally, want to extend Wakanda's resources to the Avengers – in the form of me. I am a king, I will not just join every little battle you have, but I need you to know that if something like the Chitauri and Loki ever happen again, that I will come and I will help. _The world_ needs someone willing to protect it."

"So, you want to help with the Accords and you want to be a reserve Avenger. Now, give me a good reason why I should agree to anything", countered Tony, both eyebrows raised. "Pardon my trust issues, but I literally just got stabbed in the chest by the co-leader of my previous team before he took custody of the kids and ran out on me."

T'Challa didn't even smile at Tony's attempt of a joke, instead he looked sorrowful. "Recently, after I returned home, I was... betrayed by an old friend. I think it is... part of why I have been considering all of this for the past few weeks. I have an offer to make to you, to show that you can trust me, as a _team member_. I will be sending a plane over to the Facilities, to pick up Colonel Rhodes. The way I have been informed, he has come out of surgery... not fully healed. Wakanda has the technology to heal him. Allow me to be a good teammate and help him."

"Okay, let me get this straight", grunted Tony and sat up. "You want to back me up with the council, you want to join the Avengers and in return you want to magically heal my best friend. What... What's in it for _you_ with all of that, Cheshire Cat?"

This time, he got a small smile from T'Challa. "The Accords are not for _you_. They are for _everyone_. I stand behind them. I'm doing this for _me_. My kingdom. We are opening ourselves to the world and I am terrified to think of what would have been if such a thing like the Civil War had happened in my country. Superpowered beings coming into my home, destroying it and leaving it without any consequences. I stand by that responsibility. And me joining the Avengers on a need-only base is not me trying to make anything up to you. The Avengers are to protect the world from great disaster. I happen to live on this world, Mister Stark, and I would prefer for it to _not_ be destroyed by aliens."

"Fair enough", nodded Tony, not quite used to others understanding the gravitas of a situation.

"As for Colonel Rhodes...", started T'Challa and frowned. "He got severely injured during a battle that should have never happened and I was his teammate at the time. We have the technology to heal him and if I can not even extend this human courtesy to a member of my team, what kind of man would I be? I hope to see you at the next Accords meeting and then we can talk in person about it. For now, the plane is going to reach New York in five hours. I understand your trust issues, Mister Stark, and I hope you see that I do none of those things to use you. Any of those offers are mutually beneficial for the both of us, Mister Stark. And, consequently, for the world. I hope the two of us can build a certain... trust, when working with each other. The Avengers and the Accords are both important for the world and Wakanda, no _I_ , wish to be a part of them both."

T'Challa knew exactly that there was no way Tony would say no to the plane offer. He had been wrecking himself with guilt about Rhodey's injury since day one. The braces helped, but... to be able to walk on his own again? Tony took a deep breath and nodded slowly. As the call disconnected, Tony took a pen with a shaky hand and added one one to the second list.

  * (T'Challa)



Five, himself included. And if the king's offer really would work, if Rhodey could walk again, then there would at least be three regulars on the team. Tony, Rhodey and Vision. It wasn't much. It wasn't much, but it was at least _something_. And to know that T'Challa was willing to aid during an international crisis was mildly reassuring, though the king still had to regain Tony's trust.

Having someone to back him up on the Accords – specifically on the fact that they were inherently the right thing to do, but they were also _flawed_ and needed to be adjusted (something that had never been out of the question anyway) – was a huge relief in itself.

Small steps.

Small steps to get back to normality. Or as close to it as possible. The past was done and it would never be that way again. The Avengers, as they had been, were gone. His eyes fell onto the third column on the list, something like sorrow grasping his heart.

  * Thor
  * Bruce



The ones where no one knew what had happened to them. Thor was, most likely, back on Asgard. Or so Jane had said the last time Tony had spoken to her. And Bruce... The Hulk surely would be keeping him alive, but beyond that? It was like he had just disappeared from this Earth.

Small steps. For now, he needed to focus on the things that were in his control. The Avengers and the Accords. There was no point in worrying about those out of reach.

/break\

Loki was bored out of his mind. He was sitting in his room on the spaceship, playing with the Tessaract. It had been too tempting to leave it to destruction. It was bad enough everything else had been destroyed. Loki preferred to have an ace up his sleeve and considering he wasn't entirely sure where all of this was going _for him_ just yet – it'd be best to keep this little trump-card. Smiling slyly, Loki put the Tessaract back into a pocket dimension to keep it safe.

Getting up from his bed, he made his way down to the dining hall. It was incredibly loud on the ship. And as obnoxious as Loki thought that was, there was a strange part of him that disliked how easy it was to overlook everything. Everyone. These people, they were the last Asgardians. So many had died. All his life, Loki had _fought_ for his place among them. He had craved to lead, the power – but both mainly for the _acceptance_. He had always been othered.

There was an odd sense of... community on this ship. Far different than on Asgard. The loss of their home had huddled the people together in a way Loki had never witnessed before.

He was even growing... _fond_ of Thor. The way one would grow fond of a dumb dog. The loyalty, the overly enthusiastic excitement, everything about Thor, really. But having lost both Frigga and Odin, there was this strange sense there. He still had Thor and Thor still had him and in a twisted way, there would _never_ be anyone who would understand them both as they each other. Even though Loki knew Thor would never _truly_ understand him. Apparently, Thor was however the closest Loki would get. Not to mention, Loki was actually slightly more appreciative of the new Thor who was not falling for every single prank and deception from Loki.

Loki heaved a sigh as he entered the dining hall. It was easy to spot Thor – it was always easy to spot Thor, that was one thing that would never stop. The king – oh, it gave Loki _physical pain_ to even think that but he supposed that if he was here to stay (for whatever reason), he needed to get used to this – was sitting with Bruce Banner at his side, the Valkyrie and Lady Sif opposite them.

Sif had teleported onto their ship a few nights ago, after contacting Heimdall. Apparently, she had missed out on the entire destruction and situation by being off-planet on a diplomatic mission. Loki had forgotten about _that_. Thor's ex had always been loyal to Thor so Loki had sent her away to get the nosy, suspicious woman out of his hair while he was playing Odin. Turned out that had most likely saved her life. The Warriors Three were dead, most of Asgard's strongest warriors were.

"Brother! Come sit with us!", called Thor out.

There was a time when Loki had found Thor's bright attitude incredibly tiresome and thought him dumb for it. Recent events had put things into perspective. Where loss made Loki bitter and vindictive, Thor seemed to always find some angle to be optimistic and think about the future. Loki would rather be found dead than admit this aloud, but after _everything_ they had recently endured together, Loki found it nearly admirable. In the end, that might just be why he was still here. Why he hadn't returned to a nice, cozy life on Sakaar and instead decided to stay _here_. Because he had learned to appreciate Thor, in his own way. Had grown fond of Thor, in his own way.

"We've been traveling for weeks. You gonna share our destination, blondie?", asked Valkyrie.

She had both eyebrows raised as she stared Thor down. Intrigued, Loki sat down next to his brother. He had been wondering the same thing. Most had been wondering the same thing. The Asgardians were growing restless. They couldn't keep living on this ship.

"Midgard", replied Thor seriously.

"...Midgard?", echoed Sif and Valkyrie doubtfully.

Loki noted how resigned Bruce Banner looked. The Midgardian knew exactly where Thor wanted to go and judging by the look on his face, Bruce expected that to not go very smoothly.

"Thor has helped save the world once, had helped with Sokovia. He proved that not all aliens are bad. And since you come seeking refuge after your planet was destroyed...", started Bruce, not sounding overly convinced himself. "And we have to warn Earth about Thanos."

Loki sneered at the name. The memory of the Mad Titan twisting his way into Loki's mind and manipulating the master manipulator – it still didn't sit right with him, even after all these years. After all, what would Loki have gained? He had never been a _follower_.

Thanos wanted the Infinity Stones, the further the Asgardians had been traveling, the more news and rumors they had heard. Not that Loki hadn't heard enough from the Grandmaster on Sakaar. He had tales to tell of the so-called Guardians of the Galaxy – and oh, the most dreadful thing about the 'good guys' was their cringeworthy habit of giving themselves ridiculous names.

"We know for a fact that there are two Infinity Stones on Midgard", stated Loki thoughtfully, summoning a glass of wine. "The Time Stone with that _blasted_ wannabe magician."

Loki glared at the dopey grin on Thor's face as he thought back on Loki falling for half an hour. "And the Mind Stone that was used to create the Vision."

"How did _two_ Infinity Stones end up on such a backwater planet?", muttered Valkyrie, shaking her head before pausing. "No offense, Banner."

"None taken", grunted Bruce.

"I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing your team again, right?", asked Sif curiously.

Bruce winced at that. It intrigued Loki. He _loved_ chaos and discord and from everything he had gathered so far, Bruce Banner had left his home-planet in a very entertaining manner, leaving chaos and discord behind. This could prove to be very entertaining for Loki.

"Clint is not going to be happy to see Loki", pointed Bruce out. "Neither is Steve. Or... the rest of the world, actually. Stuttgart in particular."

"I'm a reformed man, Doctor Banner", drawled Loki with an innocent smile.

Bruce heaved a defeated sigh at that, making Loki smile even brighter. This was going to be _fun_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first Avengers fic. Over the years, I have gathered so many headcanons and things I would want to see - it really is due time for me to write them all down.
> 
> Fair warning; this is going to be a slow-burn. It's going to focus a lot on how the new team comes together, on their dynamics and how they grow closer.
> 
> I want a solid friendship for Tony and T'Challa - the likes for which I have laid the basics out here, because I think that particuarly after the events of Black Panther and the betrayal of his own close friend, he'd feel more for this. I also want Shuri and Peter to become friends. And oh, there are so many more.
> 
> But this was mainly born out of how utterly ridiculous the idea is that by the time Infinity War rolls around, TWO YEARS after Civil War, the Avengers are still literally only Tony, a still crippled Rhodey and Vision. That's it. That's the Avengers. After two years. Seriously? That's so unrealistic. I get why they didn't push another Avengers movie in between where they recruit more characters because then Infinity War would be even more ridiculously overcrowded, but let's be real, in-universe that is just absolutely ridiculously stupid.
> 
> Also partially prompted by how Infinity War decided to have Rhodey do a 180 on the Accords and hug Cap like an old friend. Literally contradicting... the entire damn Civil War movie. That just fueled my saltiness about Civil War back on.
> 
> So have a post-Civil War fic that actually focuses on rebuilding the Avengers. Featuring a couple Asgardians thrown in and one Asgardian in particular, who's going to help Tony rebuild himself.


	2. A New Hope

_Chapter 2: A New Hope_

Rhodey was in awe as he got off the plane. He had never seen anything that could compare to Wakanda. It was breathtakingly beautiful and he immediately had to think just how much Tony would like it. It oozed technological ingenuity and advancement. It looked like the future.

"Colonel Rhodes. We're glad to have you", stated T'Challa as he approached.

"Thank you for having me, your majesty", replied Rhodey. "I'm still not quite sure what I'm doing here. Tony just told me that you would help me, but he didn't get to elaborate before your plane landed. Help me... how exactly?"

"Those are interesting."

Rhodey startled a little and turned to look at the teenager crouched down next to him and examining the braces he was wearing. "And... who is... this?"

"That is my sister. Princess Shuri", introduced T'Challa with a smile and a foreboding twinkle in his eyes. "She is the one who will help you. Help you walk again, that is."

"Help me... walk again?", asked Rhodey slowly, unsure, eyeing Shuri.

Shuri had gotten up again by now and T'Challa chuckled. "Do not be fooled by her age."

"Oh no. No, that's not it. I went to MIT sharing a room with a teen genius, I know what teen genius looks like when I see it", grunted Rhodey. "But how do you plan on making me _walk_ again. Tony had the best surgeons and experts flown in after... and none could help."

"Well, none were me", smirked Shuri. "It's a spinal injury, right? Let's get you to my lab."

"Lead the way, princess", offered Rhodey slowly, looking back at T'Challa one last time.

Blinking slowly, Rhodey allowed himself to be dragged along by the princess. T'Challa watched with a small but pleased smile. He was used to seeing people underestimate Shuri or scoff at her when they first met her, judging a book by its cover. He knew Colonel Rhodes and Tony Stark had gone to MIT together, that the colonel knew that even a teenager could hide quite the intellect. A part of T'Challa was curious what a meeting between Tony Stark and Shuri would look like. And perhaps at one point, after Colonel Rhodes would be better and once T'Challa had a chance to fully talk things out with Tony. Shuri was rather intrigued by Stark Tech and by Iron Man's suits – she had scoffed at first, listing things on how she would improve those suits, but then she dug a little into him, after she had first heard that her brother had joined forces with the man, and when she read that he had built the first suit in captivity out of scrap metal, there had been a spark of awe and respect in her eyes. T'Challa wondered how Tony would take to meeting a teenager more intelligent than him, though after everything he had read about Tony that had proven to be false, he had a hunch how things would go and he would like to see it unfold.

/break\

"Okay, so Karen and I, we had an idea on how to improve the suit – uh, I mean, not improve-improve, Mister Stark, because what you built is _amazing_ and I guess technically it wasn't so much Karen and I, it was really Ned's suggestion, but Karen and I spun it in a way that makes sense-"

"Kid", interrupted Tony fondly, lifting one hand. "Slow down, yeah? What was your idea?"

"Camouflage", stated Peter, his eyes sparkling and the grin on his lips nearly breaking his face. "Ned, who has been _creepily_ obsessed with spiders since I told him, he read up somewhere that some spiders can camouflage and since the Vulture went after your invisible plane, I had to think about how that technology would work on a suit, to give us camouflage abilities!"

Tony frowned curiously and tilted back in his chair some. After the tower was sold and the move was done and Tony returned to New York, Tony had taken a more hands-on approach to mentoring Peter. What had happened with the Vulture was just... too much. But at the time, Tony had enough on his mind already. Now that he was settled – had bought a cozy mansion near Central Park – Tony got to reevaluate what was important in his life, to him.

Rhodey was a priority and he was currently in Wakanda to be helped by T'Challa's doctors.

Pepper was a priority and Tony would make damn sure that her and Happy's wedding would be absolutely breathtaking and the event of the decade – seriously, that Happy _still_ carried the engagement ring with him after all those years, but announcing the engagement of Stark Indrustries' CEO had been a very good replacement news for Spider-Man becoming an official Avenger.

Peter was definitely also a priority. The boy was brilliant and needed someone to support him in it, encourage him. He was part of the team, even if he had not officially joined them.

Stark Industries, thankfully enough, was Pepper's priority. Things were thrown into chaos after the Civil War and Tony couldn't even begin to express how grateful he was to have her in charge.

The Avengers... Well, they should be a priority too, but Tony wasn't even sure where to _begin_. Probably right here, with Peter. He was a brilliant kid with the heart at the right place and if left to his own devices, he might just get himself killed because he would try to take on an army of Chitauri all on his own if necessary. Supporting him and making sure that Peter knew he would have backup and people to rely on if he needed them, that was definitely important.

"Let's go to the lab and try figure out how to do that", grinned Tony as he pushed off the table.

"A... Are you sure?", asked Peter hopefully. "You're not too busy with work?"

"What work?", laughed Tony, spreading his arms. "Pepper got SI taken care of and it's not like there are any Avengers I'd have to take care of, are there?"

"Mister Stark-", started Peter, voice wavering.

"I told you, kiddo. It's alright", chuckled Tony, resting a hand on Peter's head. "Let's go."

Peter nodded, though he didn't look quite convinced. That kid was too perceptive for his own good at times. And he worried too much about the adults, he _should_ be more of a kid. That train had already left though. Peter was a hero, he already was, and he would always prioritize that responsibility over his own private life. All Tony could do was make that easier for him.

/break\

The Valkyrie courting Lady Sif was quite possibly the most entertaining thing happening on the blasted ship. Lewd comments and broad smirks that made Sif huff and roll her eyes. That lady had standards and was not so easily persuaded; she had learned her lesson from her relationship with Thor all those many years ago. And apparently, the Valkyrie was _a bit_ rusty about seduction, which was what brought the entertainment factor into this. Oh well, it was also the low standard of entertainment all around, Loki supposed. Otherwise he wouldn't pay attention to such trivial things.

"Brunnhilde-", started Bruce with a frown.

"Do _not_ call me that, Banner", warned the Valkyrie with a glare like daggers.

"Hilde?", offered Bruce tentatively, earning a heavy sigh from her. "Hilde, maybe you should just change strategies. Yours is _clearly_ not working."

Hilde glared and crossed her arms over her chest. Thor on her other side laughed in a jolly way.

"Sif has always had high standards. It was what intrigued me about her too", agreed Thor.

"So. What did you do make her fall for you? _Clearly_ her standards can't be _that_ high", huffed Hilde.

Loki had to suppress his laughter at that and the kicked puppy look on Thor's face, before the blonde replied. "I bested her in combat, which... impressed her but also made her quite angry."

"She attempted to assassinate you for an entire month", supplied Loki dryly.

"Quite angry", agreed Thor, waving a hand into Loki's general direction. "But in the end..."

After a long stretch of silence, Hilde growled. "Well, will you tell me or not?"

"No, I genuinely don't know", muttered Thor with a frown. "I... can't seem to remember."

Brunnhilde looked ready to murder Thor right then and there. They had been stuck on this ship for quite a while now and she had not been that intrigued by anyone in a _very_ , very long time. Sif was head-strong, but also physically strong, she was elegant as she fought and witty as she quipped with Thor – and she was straight-up gorgeous. But Brunnhilde? She had spent too much time drinking and burying her feelings and emotions deep under snark and an uncaring attitude. She knew how to pick someone up for a quick fuck, but Sif was quite clearly not interested in that. And Brunnhilde had _no idea_ what to do to show genuine interest in someone... How did someone express that? She had kind of forgotten what it was like to open up, be genuinely vulnerable with someone.

"It was mother", offered Loki when the glaring contest between Thor and Valkyrie grew stale.

"What?", asked the three others, turning toward Loki.

"Mother and I watched your feeble attempts at gaining her attention for a while with great amusement", replied Loki, feigning disinterest in the conversation overall. "When you made a fool of yourself, mother decided to intervene. She went and talked to Sif."

"That makes sense", nodded Thor thoughtfully, looking pained at the memory of Frigga.

"Well, what did the queen say?", asked Brunnhilde with a glare.

"I have no idea. Thor's love-life was by far not interesting enough for me to keep track of how that went", drawled Loki with a careless shrug.

Brunnhilde gritted her teeth at that and glowered. This was indeed going to be the most entertaining thing happening on this blasted ship, until they'd finally reach Midgard. Loki frowned thoughtfully to himself as he left the room. He did not anticipate a warm welcome from them though. The last time the good Captain and his merry band of superheroes had given Loki a run for his money and in their black and white world of good and bad, there was no room for gray, was there?

/break\

"Boss", interrupted FRIDAY just after the latest attempt had exploded in Tony and Peter's faces.

"What is it, Fry? You can see that we're busy, right?", coughed Tony. "No, Dum-E! Put that-"

Peter yelped and jumped onto the ceiling as Dum-E started to spray them with the fire-extinguisher. Which, granted, this time Tony probably deserved it. The two had just gotten too excited about trying out camouflage mode for Peter's suit and... apparently it needed some more tinkering before it worked on a suit without fizzing out due to movements.

"There is a visitor waiting for you upstairs, boss", replied FRIDAY.

"Who is it? I'm busy", huffed Tony, wiping white cream off his face.

Peter was still sticking to the ceiling, laughing delighted. Glaring, Tony threw the fire-extinguisher cream at Peter, making the spiderling yelp and nearly fall off the ceiling. Sweet revenge.

"A Miss Hope van Dyne", replied FRIDAY.

"Never heard that name before. No idea what that means. Why did you think this was important enough to interrupt us?", asked Tony while toweling off the rest of the white cream.

"She says it's about the Avengers Initiative", offered FRIDAY.

"...You should have really led with that, girl", sighed Tony.

Peter looked at him curiously and all Tony could do was shrug. He really had no idea who Hope van Dyne was. Van Dyne, the name sounded vaguely familiar though, but Tony couldn't place it.

"Well, I guess... should I go, Mister Stark?", asked Peter reluctantly.

"One, how often do I have to tell you to call me Tony? Two, you _are_ an Avenger, aren't you?", offered Tony with a shrug. "Not officially, but you're still part of the team. You're not just a kid. If this is about the Avengers, you got as much a right to know what it is."

Peter looked very excited at that before pulling down his mask. Once Tony was relatively cleaned up, he and Peter made their way back upstairs with the elevator. By the time they exited, there was a strict looking brunette woman already waiting in Tony's office.

"Miss... van Dyne, was it?", asked Tony with his polite press-smile, reaching a hand out. "Tony Stark. My assistant informs me that you're here to talk about the Avengers? The last time someone said that to me ended with me in the middle of an alien invasion, so do excuse me for being cautious about this. What _exactly_ brings you here?"

Hope eyed him as she shook his head, then let her eyes drift over to Spider-Man, who just waved at her. Tony could picture the dopey grin he was probably spotting beneath the mask.

"I have been reading the news, Mister Stark", started Hope, not sitting down even as Tony motioned at the chair. "The so-called Civil War left your team... well, it didn't leave much of your team."

"Your point?", asked Tony curtly, choosing to also stand and stay on eye-level with her.

Hope had an aura to herself that wasn't unlike Natasha or Pepper. Composed, strong, not to be underestimated. A smile slid onto her lips, but it was a calculated one. She knew exactly what she was going to say and she was already anticipating the outcome of this conversation.

"I'm here to join the Avengers", announced Hope. "Your team could use the members."

"And... what do you bring to the table?", asked Tony skeptically. "And why would you?"

"Remember Scott Lang?", asked Hope, earning a blank look. "Ant-Man?"

"Oh, the dude who could get super small and super big!", exclaimed Peter excited.

"Him", confirmed Hope dryly. "He _stole_ that technology from me. He was out on probation. He wasn't supposed to leave the _country_. But he did, for something that did not concern him and without checking the facts first. I read the Accords, I reviewed what had been on the line. He had been a fool to get dragged into the middle of a personal dispute between strangers that did not concern him the least. He gave up his _freedom_ for nothing. And..."

"You're pissed about it?", offered Tony, raising one eyebrow.

"To put it mildly", confirmed Hope with a glare. "I'm _tired_ of the men in my life lying to me to shield me from something _they_ caused. I have more training than Scott. I have the technology. I'm not a former criminal. And I understand the facts. I understand what the Avengers _should_ be. Protectors. Not someone who decides what they want to do and do it without _consequences_. The Avengers are... important. New York – the world – needs them. Between you, the Vision and War Machine, there are not a lot of Avengers left. There had been no official press-release concerning Spider-Man joining the Avengers...?"

"I'm a... reserve player", offered Peter. "I'm more of a solo-artist than a band-member."

Hope arched an eyebrow at that before turning toward Tony again. "I'm tired of standing back while others do the things I am more equipped of doing. Giving Scott the Ant-Man suit was a mistake from the get-go. He was a just released criminal. But my father didn't think I was fit for it. Now Scott stole it and both him and the suit are gone, because he is _a wanted criminal again_."

"People have underestimated and betrayed you. Now you want to get active. I can get behind that", nodded Tony slowly. "But, again, what is it you bring to the table, Miss van Dyne?"

Smiling, Hope slowly unbuttoned her jacket and shrugged it off. She was wearing a rather curious golden-black suit of armor. Tony startled slightly as thin, dragonfly-like wings popped up. Peter made an excited squeaky sound at it. That boy would _suck_ at poker...

"I have the same suit as Scott. Only... modified. I can fly and... sting. I have the combat training to fight. I'm willing to sign the Accords, at least the latest draft you proposed of them", replied Hope. "I saw it with my own eyes, what kind of crazy villains this city houses. If something happens, _someone_ has to be there and react. I'm ready to be that someone."

"Right", nodded Tony slowly. "That..."

Hope smiled amused and got a file out of her bag. "My resume. I figured you wouldn't just welcome anyone who walks in into the Avengers. Do a background check, call me."

"I will", nodded Tony as he watched the woman put the file down on the table.

Not just accept anyone into the Avengers who walks in...? Now that would be a very new approach to things. Tony had kind of just dragged Rhodey in. Steve had introduced Sam to Tony more or less in passing and stated that Sam would join the team. Wanda... Tony swallowed hard and shook his head. Just walking in and becoming an Avenger was how it had been done so far.

"We need a system", announced Peter after Hope left the room. "Like... Like an entrance exam, or something. Or some kind of... criteria? Right?" Tony stared surprised. "What? She's right. You know that, Mister Stark. Three people aren't really a team and I feel super guilty for declining, I mean I will totally help if we ever face some really big disaster, but I just... can't full-time commit to being an Avenger. I have _my own_ calling to answer. But I'd feel way better about that if you had like... a real team to back you up. And I _mean_ a real team."

A faint smile graced Tony's lips as he nodded. Peter was right. _Hope_ was right. Sighing, he opened the upper drawer of his desk and pulled out the sheet of paper. Smoothing it down, he motioned for Peter to join him. The boy pulled off his mask now that Hope was gone, looking confused.

"That's the roster, as of now", sighed Tony. "Those who left, those who disappeared and those who remained. I've been thinking about it too, believe me. The Avengers are needed. King T'Challa offered his support in case of major incidents."

"So. Who do you know who'd like... make the team better?", asked Peter curiously. "Rhodey is getting fixed by the Wakandans, right? So it'd be you, Vision and Rhodey. Me and King T'Challa, if you need us. And the lady that was just here who can... change her size? And fly, I guess?"

Tony hummed softly and frowned curiously. "A recruitment. FRIDAY, make me a list of all super-powered incidents in the area. Include background checks. Also, for Miss van Dyne too."

"On it, boss", confirmed FRIDAY from above.

"I'll help you!", exclaimed Peter excitedly. "I swear, we're going to put together an all new, way improved and trustworthy team of Avengers."

Turning some, Tony smiled faintly at the boy. "We will. We'll come up with a process together, to recruit new members. Then we'll test Miss van Dyne and who knows, maybe she will be the first new Avengers to join a new and improved team."

"So... you could say that she's like... _A New Hope_?", asked Peter with a shit-eating grin.

Tony offered him the most deadpan expression he could muster. "Much to learn, you have."

Peter was positively cackling when Tony cracked the smallest smile.

/break\

Bruce heaved a deep sigh as he stared out the window. It was still so far away, yet it was right there. So blue and beautiful. Earth. _Home_. If he still had a home there. He wondered what Tony and the others would say when he returned. He regretted the way he had fled the planet as the Hulk, but it wasn't like he had been in control. He just hoped the team would be alright.

"Bruce? What's on your mind?", asked Thor as he approached.

"The team", replied Bruce. "What the future holds. There are hundreds of Asgardians on this ship. We can only hope they will be accepted as fugitives. But me? I _am_ human. I just... don't know where my place will be, once again..."

"You are an Avenger. As am I", offered Thor a bit confused. "The compound, surely? I had hoped to put our headquarters there. Surely Steve and Tony wouldn't mind."

"Surely", echoed Bruce doubtfully, frowning.

He knew things had been tense between Tony and Steve due to Ultron – things between _everyone_ had been tense since Ultron. But it's been over a year since Ultron. Who knew what had happened on Earth while they had been gone...? Bruce frowned concerned. He didn't have a good feeling.

"You're most unenthusiastic about returning to Midgard", observed Thor.

Bruce smiled just faintly. Back on Earth, many only saw the muscular handsome blonde and didn't seem to give Thor much credit beyond, even though he deserved it. Thor was by far not dumb. He could be very insensitive at times, but that was something different. He was _strong_. Not physically; mentally. He had pushed through the loss of his mother, the loss of his father, his three oldest friends, his entire _planet_. Thor had lost so much. And most of it thanks to his father's lies.

Aldrif Odinsdottir. Odin and Frigga's firstborn child. A true angel of death. Having been banished by Odin when he could no longer _use_ her, when she became _inconvenient_. Honestly, the more Bruce learned about Odin, the more he understood why Loki was the way he was. And despite various attempts at trickery, Loki had still fought with them, side by side, against Aldrif.

"Loki tried to destroy the world, Thor", stated Bruce slowly.

"He did. But he has helped us", argued Thor with a frown.

"Earth doesn't know that", pointed Bruce out. "We have to make a very good pitch to prevent Loki from getting locked up right away. And I still can't quite believe I'm saying that."

"Ah, but my brother just has to prove himself. He can do that! He helped save half of Asgard. He can prove himself as a hero to Midgard!", declared Thor very firmly.

"Does he _want_ that though?", questioned Bruce, one eyebrow raised. "Loki doesn't strike me as the hero type. I doubt he wants to bear the Avengers logo and answer to Cap's orders. Do you, Loki?"

Thor startled a little and turned around, while a chuckling Loki made his way out of the shadows. Bruce had gotten incredibly good at spotting the trickster. Not that there was much else to do than learn each other on this ship. Thor, Loki, Hilde and Sif, Bruce knew them all by now, maybe as good as the other Avengers, perhaps some even better.

"A hero of Midgard?", chuckled Loki, looking absolutely delighted. "It would be an amusing twist, wouldn't it? To have the humans worship me on their own account as they worship you, Thor."

And it indeed was. Loki had to admit that the respect he had gained over saving the Asgardians was a quite pleasant change of pace. All his life, he had been the outcast, sneered at by his peers. Always in the shadow of his glorious brother, the pride of Odin. No one cared much for Odin anymore. The one who had banished a crazy lady – his daughter and heir – and brought the destruction of Asgard upon them all. It had shifted perspective of those who survived. Those who had lost home and their families and friends to Aldrif's insanity. To them, suddenly, Odin was the villain and Loki was the hero. How the tables had turned. People smiled and nodded at him when they passed him on the ship now. His magic was no longer something that othered him, it was something that had protected and helped them, had saved them. This sort of respect and acceptance, it was new but not entirely unwelcome. Finally, Loki was en par with Thor. His equal, not in his shadows anymore.

There was a very delightful side to imagining becoming an Avenger – besting Thor on his favorite playground, making Thor's little humans worship _him_. It could be fun, for a while. And if it became too much work, he could still turn again, as he always did. As long as it lasted.

"I suppose I could have... a little fun with this", hummed Loki. "For now, I really got to get going before the Valkyrie wakes up. I'm sure I'll see you around. It's not like there's anywhere else to be."

With that, Loki disappeared, leaving Thor and Bruce startled and a bit confused. Bruce's bad feeling felt even worse at the little fun that Loki wanted to have. Bruce had seen the _potential_ in Loki, but to Loki, everything was a game where Loki would gain _something_ from. What it was that Loki thought he could gain from being an Avenger...? _If_ he even could become one. Bruce was still doubtful what Cap and especially Clint would have to say about it.

"Where is that green, slithering snake?!", screamed Brunnhilde in that moment, barging into the room. "Where is your brother, Thor? I will skin him alive and make him into a belt!"

Bruce stared wide-eyed at Hilde and tried very hard not to laugh, because the neon-pink hair sticking up into every direction was quite startling. Loki was _really_ getting bored.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not apologize for the titular pun! Peter 100% would have made that! We all saw him build a Death Star!
> 
> So. Tiniest change in the side-pairing list becaaause I realized that unlike the MCU I am not bound by who has the rights to what character and I can actually make T'Challa/Storm happen here! Now, this will not entail a full-blown X-Men/Avengers crossover because that'd just be too many fucking characters, and it will also not be the exact X-Men movie Avengers, because that timeline is so fucked at this point I have no idea what is happening there. I'll take my Storm from X-Men: Evolution and I genuinely believe she and MCU!T'Challa would be a nice match-up.
> 
> Also, I made some MINOR adjustments to Ragnarök. I just, I am physically incapable of writing a bastardization like that movie did of Hela. Loki as the adopted son of Odin and all that jazz, I have come to accept as the ~Marvel AU fanfiction~ to Norse mythology, but that that movie fucked not just Norse mythology but also the comics over by having Hela as the daughter of Odin...? I can't. I refuse. And I want to keep the option open to introduce Hela, daughter of Loki, to Tony at one point in this fic. So instead, have random Marvel OC daughter of Odin be the villain of the movie, because I don't care about that character and it still perfectly works, everything in the movie happened just the way it did, only that evil villain lady's name was not Hela but Aldrif.
> 
> Now, to the next chapter! We will meet Jane and Darcy and do some recruiting for the new Avengers! ;)


	3. Recruitment of the Fittest

_Chapter 3: Recruitment of the Fittest_

"Platypus! You... walk. On your own!"

Rhodey chuckled as he embraced Tony as soon as he was out of the plane. The pilot nodded at him a last time before immediately taking off and leaving again. Tony made another excited sound.

"Yeah. She fixed me", chuckled Rhodey, resting his chin on Tony's shoulder. "That little genius sister of the king. She's brilliant and snarky. I felt like I was back at our MIT dorms."

"Little genius sister? Interesting", hummed Tony. "And... it's fine? It doesn't hurt?"

"I feel like a new man", assured Rhodey and took a couple of steps back, twirling once.

Tony's heart was hammering in his chest in excitement. He thought his best friend would never be able to walk again. That Rhodey had lost his legs because Tony had dragged him into this superhero business. Yet here he was, walking on his own two legs.

"Listen, Tones...", started Rhodey. "It's been a long flight. I'd like to lay down for a while. We talk later? Tell me how things have been here, I have to tell you all about Wakanda."

"Yeah. Yes. Sure", nodded Tony, watching his oldest friend leave.

With a certain spring to his steps did Tony walk back to his office to call up a certain king. It only took moments for the call to connect and Tony suspected that T'Challa had been expecting him. Most likely, the pilot had informed the king of dropping Rhodey off safely.

"And here I thought Wakanda's greatest resource is its handsome king with the superpowers", drawled Tony, leaning back against his desk. "Apparently, you're not even the crown-jewel of your own family, huh, Pink Panther?"

"So Colonel Rhodes arrived safely then?", asked T'Challa amused.

"He did. Thank you. And thanks to your sister, who I would _love_ to meet at one point to pick her brain", grinned Tony broadly. "So, that was... more than just a sign of good faith."

"So, how are things going with the Avengers?", asked T'Challa cautiously instead.

"Spider-Man and I have been tinkering with a... recruitment plan", offered Tony after a moment. "You too, as a reserve Avenger, would have to go through testing and a psych evaluation. If that is not something you are willing to do then we have to overthink your part in it, but this is... non-negotiable. Rogers brought a highly unstable, vicious woman with psychic powers into our team, no questions asked. Every single member of the former Avengers had mental issues no one ever took proper care of and it affected the team – heck, Bruce fucked off to who knows where. Not again."

T'Challa looked surprised by the outburst and if he was being honest, Tony was surprised too. Clearing his throat, Tony smoothed down his tie. This had been on his mind since Ultron and he had always swallowed it back, knowing there was no arguing with Captain America. Taking Wanda into the team had been the most ridiculous decision ever made. _She_ was the one who had caused Ultron, prompting Tony and Bruce to even build it, she was the one who had _willingly_ worked for with HYDRA to get her powers and then with Ultron to achieve her goals. Just because she changed sides in the last second should not have pardoned her from _everything_. She never had to face any consequences for anything she did, she just got to join the Avengers and all was good. The gratitude she gave for that? Sending Vision through the floor. Her own boyfriend. Without a second's doubt and without any valid reason. Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Steve – they were all not fully stable. Tony too, of course. He had been highly unstable and his PTSD had driven him up the wall. But now, he was seeing a professional, he had gotten help, he was taking care of this. No one else on the team ever really had. That couldn't continue. Avengers needed to be stable and to go and get a regular psych evaluations. That _had_ to be a criteria. Together with a physical test.

"Those are reasonable requests, Mister Stark", assured T'Challa. "The next Accords meeting will be in Washington DC next month. If that would fit, I could visit New York and get it done then."

Tony stared at T'Challa for a very long moment. He wasn't used to team-members being that cooperative and to listening to his ideas and wishes like that.

"Sounds good enough to me, your pantherness", nodded Tony with a smile. "See you in a month."

When the call disconnected, Tony stared at the screen for a long moment. Walking around his desk, he got the list out of his pocket and smoothed it down. There was a fourth column by now – Avengers, former Avengers, missing Avengers and potential future Avengers.

"Fry, call Hope van Dyne", requested Tony as he straightened again.

"Mister Stark. I didn't expect you to call so soon", stated Hope, looking not very surprised.

"Miss van Dyne", greeted Tony with a brief nod. "I checked your resume and I'll be sending you the documents with all the details – you will have to pass a psych-evaluation and a power-test for your physical abilities. You'll also have to meet the whole team first. And then we will see."

"Sounds good enough to me", nodded Hope. "You will hear from me soon then."

/break\

Tony smiled faintly as he saw the team sit together. Vision had returned two days ago. He had been gone, looking for Wanda everywhere after she and the others had become wanted fugitives. He was seeking some form of closure and judging by the hard lines his face was set into, he had found it. Rhodey was smiling as he was drinking coffee and eating a bagel. Apparently, Peter had brought bagels with him. Of course he had. May had raised him well.

"Mister Stark! What did you want to talk about?", wanted Peter to know.

"Tony. I told you, it's Tony", sighed Tony amused as he joined them.

Rhodey's surgery had been three days ago and this morning, Hope van Dyne had called about an appointment for her evaluation. It was time to talk future with the team.

"I made a list", continued Tony and got his stupid piece of paper out, to spread it out on the center of the table for the other three to see. "The future of the Avengers. Past and present. Presently, the four of us are the Avengers. Three and a half. That's... We're not team enough to do what the Avengers should be doing. We need recruits."

"And you made a list of potential recruits, Tones?", asked Rhodey curiously. "Hope van Dyne, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, DareDevil, Iron Fist? What is Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters?"

"Hope van Dyne... applied for a position with the Avengers while you were in Wakanda", replied Tony. "The others? Research. Superpowered beings in and around New York. The kind with the potential to become Avengers. I did _a lot_ of talking with the committee. The Accords will be finalized in a few weeks in DC, but for now what is important for the Avengers is that being an Avenger is a paid position." Peter and Rhodey both raised their heads at him at that. "I'm not going to foot the bills anymore. Free housing and food and armor. That's ending. If the government wants to keep the Avengers in check, like proper employers, then they better pay up so every Avenger can afford their own food and housing, if they wish to. The mansion will be the new headquarters. Housing here can be arranged, if wanted. Every future Avenger will be evaluated prior to being taken on the team and the whole team has to _agree_ on additional members – part-time Avengers have as much a voting right here as full-time members, Petey-pie."

"Oh. Cool", hummed Peter, nodding.

"The Black Panther signed up as a reserve Avenger. Hope van Dyne wants a full-time job. And even then, we would still need more members", continued Tony on. "I figured we'd split up the recruitment to see where we can find fitting members."

"That sounds like the most logical course of action. An advertisement in the newspapers is not going to attract the right crowd", agreed Vision. "What plans did you have for us?"

"Peter, you go and check in with Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, see if you can get a hold of DareDevil and Iron Fist – urgh, that name, like a really bad gay porn-star in the 80s", grunted Tony and shook his head. "From one friendly neighborhood defender to four others. See where they stand."

"Awesome", grinned Peter. "I can totally do that. Where do I find them?"

Tony huffed amused and handed out a folder to Peter. "I printed all the information. Viz, you go and check in with the mutant school. See where they stand?"

Vision had been in contact with Charles Xavier for a while now, he had tried to make Wanda sign up for the school to learn full control of her powers. She had refused, feeling patronized by it.

"I look forward to meeting Professor Xavier again", confirmed Vision.

"Rhodey-bear, you get to talk to your military buddies", continued Tony with a broad smile. "Team of super-powered superheroes is one thing, but additional man-power is also important. SHIELD is still gone. Teams of military trained soldiers to back us up would be beneficial for everyone."

"Many feel betrayed by Captain America. The symbol of America, turning his back on us. I'm sure there are a lot of people resentful, who'd like to support the Avengers", nodded Rhodey with one of his serious frowns. "I'll go talk to my people, see who's up for it. What are you doing, Tones?"

"I have my own contacts to hit up", sighed Tony, pointing at three other names on the list. "There are some ladies deserving of a place in the spotlight."

Rhodey hummed, eyebrows knitted. "You sure about _her_?"

"I don't doubt her. Regardless of what happened", replied Tony firmly. "Now, everyone has their assignments and someone is running late for PE. Call if you need anything."

"PE... oh shi-", hissed Peter before running out of the room.

Rhodey, Vision and Tony looked after him fondly and amused.

/break\

Tony took a deep breath as he stood in front of the door and gathered his wits. Rhodey was right, part of him wasn't sure about this, but the bigger part still wanted to believe, to trust. After all, they were family. That had to mean something. They were the only family both still had now.

"Ye—Tony", started the blonde surprised. "...Tony?"

"Hello, Sharon", greeted Tony with a small smile. "It's been a few weeks, hasn't it?"

"Tony", breathed Sharon out before launching herself at him and hugging him. "You were in the hospital for two weeks, I wanted to visit you, but I didn't... I didn't know if you wanted to see me. And after... I... I'm so sorry for what had happened. If I had known that was what Steve would do... I just... I was just trying to help. I know how much Bucky meant to aunt Peggy and..."

"I know, Shar", sighed Tony as he wrapped his arms around her to return her hug, feeling some of the tension he had been carrying for weeks melting off. "I know why you did it. I don't... I don't blame you. I followed him to Siberia because I thought... because I trusted him too. I shouldn't..."

"What _happened_ in Siberia?", asked Sharon, slowly pushing off to drag Tony into the apartment. "The press has a lot to say about the Civil War and what happened in Germany. But Siberia...? What... What happened there? Tones, what happened to you?"

"It doesn't matter", whispered Tony and shook his head. "We fought. It didn't end well. That's all you need to know, Shar. How... How are you...?"

"How am I?", sputtered Sharon. "Tony. You lost your team and nearly your life. And you... you missed aunt Peggy's funeral, Tony. I'm so... I'm so sorry."

"The Accords. Everything", replied Tony and shook his head, fidgeting a bit. "I just... I... I'm sure it was lovely, right? Lovely funeral. People had lovely things to say about aunt Peggy."

Sighing, Sharon hugged him again. "I've been... with aunt Angela for a few days. She's... She's not doing well since aunt Peggy died, you know?"

"Of course not. It's hard to lose the love of your life", muttered Tony with a frown.

He still vividly remembered the wedding of Peggy and Angela, as soon as it was legal – Denmark. A grand wedding. Howard and Maria, Edwin and Ana Jarvis. It had been beautiful. When Peggy started getting worse, it broke Angela's heart. Often, she'd forget ever even meeting Angela, would still speak of waiting for Steve and that one dance. All his life, Tony had been haunted by the ghost of Steve Rogers. The real deal never lived up to the stories though.

"You looking for a job, Shar?", asked Tony as he sat down on the couch.

"...What?", asked Sharon startled. "Tony, what are you up to?"

"Rogers, Romanov, Barton, Maximoff and Wilson are all in the wind. The Avengers are a little... rattled, you could say", replied Tony, folding his hands in his lap. "Rhodey is on the road to recovery. He's still in physical therapy, but he'll be up for avenging soon enough. But still, the team is... lacking members. With SHIELD gone and not trusted by the people after the whole HYDRA drama, I was thinking that a super-spy might be a good addition to the team. The last super-spy we had was a backstabbing spider and I have... higher hopes for you. I _trust_ you, Shar. We're family."

Sharon looked at him with watery eyes. They weren't blood, but family wasn't just blood. Jarvis had been family, more a father than Howard ever was. Aunt Peggy wasn't Tony's aunt by blood, but oh _she was his aunt_. She was the one who had always been there for him after Jarvis was gone. And Tony had seen Sharon grow up – he had been sixteen when she was born and he had watched over her. After Howard and Maria died, Tony had spent a lot of time at Peggy's. When it was just them – Tony, Sharon, Peggy and Angela – it felt like _family_. It _was_ family.

"Think on it", offered Tony gently. "I brought you the documents. Read it. Call me."

Sharon sighed and opened her mouth, as though she wanted to say something but thought better of it. Instead, she watched him go. There was so much left unsaid, but it might be for the best for now.

/break\

"To—ony Stark himself, in front of my humble abode. Who'd have thought?"

"Miss Lewis, a pleasure", greeted Tony, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Darcy Lewis looked surprised by that. "Tony Stark, knowing my name. _Who'd_ have thought."

"Oh, I'm an avid fan of your work, Miss Lewis", smirked Tony. "Your tweets make my days."

Darcy squealed at that and craned her neck, calling into the depth of the apartment. "Jane! Janie, you won't believe it, but Tony Stark is following me on twitter. I thought that was an intern!"

"...Tony Stark?", echoed Jane Foster from inside.

Darcy stepped aside and led Tony toward the kitchen, where Jane was sitting in front of a sandwich. Blinking a couple of times, she put the sandwich down and eyed Tony suspiciously.

"Doctor Foster", greeted Tony with a smile. "I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers."

Jane heaved a deep, tired sigh. "No, I have not heard from Thor. No, I do not know how to conta-"

"I'm sorry, no. I'm not here to talk about _Thor_ , I'm here to talk to _you_ about the Avengers", interrupted Tony and took a seat, Darcy hovering nearby. "I'm sure you're tired of talking about Thor. You've been hit with the shit-storm when he left Earth. I've seen it all over social media."

Jane made a face and pushed her plate away. "Half the people hate me for breaking Thor's heart. To the other half, I'm the poor, unassuming wallflower who got dumped by the jock. I have received _death threats_ from the Thunder-heads – that's what they call themselves, you know, the Thor fangirls. Death threats, because _clearly_ I am the sole reason Thor hasn't returned to Earth."

"So a hunky blonde walked out on you and left you with all the problems", summed Tony up with a sarcastic smirk. "I can relate to that. It's such a mess, isn't it?"

"The outfall of the Avengers. I've read about it", nodded Jane. "Why are you here?"

"As I said, to talk to you about the Avengers. About being an Avenger", replied Tony.

"Me?", asked Jane and started laughing loudly, before she froze when Tony didn't laugh. "Wait. You're... serious? I'm not a superhero. I have no special suit, no super-powers. I can't – and don't want to – fight. No. No, I am not Avenger-material. Why would you even-"

"Janie. Girl, calm down. Let the filthy-rich billionaire talk", interrupted Darcy.

"Thank you, Miss Lewis", nodded Tony amused and turned toward Jane. "Not as an active Avenger punching super-villains, Doctor Foster. For the research department. You're the world's leading expert on alien technology. You went to Asgard. You studied their technology. You were investigating the Bifrost before we had a name for it. I know you did your testing on the remains of the Chitauri ships – or what you could get your hands on from them. I'm offering you a lab and the funding to continue your research as an Avenger. The Avengers need to be able to protect Earth from alien attacks and the best course of action for that is to _understand_ alien technology. So, Doctor Foster, do you want to be an Avenger?"

"Holy shit, _yes_!", exclaimed Darcy excitedly. "What? Stop glaring, Jane. I know you've had trouble finding funding since Thor took off because of the dickheads. This is _perfect_. We are super not saying no to the filthy-rich billionaire who wants to give us all the money!"

"Us?", chuckled Jane amused and shook her head before turning to Tony again.

"Well, we're a package deal", grinned Darcy delighted.

"Actually, Miss Lewis, I am also here with a job-offer for you", stated Tony, watching Darcy's stunned face in utter amusement. "I wasn't buttering you up when I said I'm a fan of your work. You're partially the reason why Thor has so many admirers. You... humanized him. With your tweets and Instagram pictures of him smiling like an over-sized puppy next to a beer, or him eating pop-tarts for breakfast. Unintentionally, you became his PR manager, in a way. You painted him in a light that took the fear away – even after saving the world, there were still many skeptical of the alien in the room. You made him _human_. And I'd like for you to do the same for the new Avengers."

"Wait. Are you... _serious_?", asked Darcy surprised, blinking a couple of times.

"Quite so", confirmed Tony, genuinely enjoying Darcy's reactions. "The Avengers, as a brand, took a hard hit when two thirds of the team left and became wanted fugitives from the law. I'm trying to rebuild a new team of Avengers. I used to do most PR, but press-releases are one thing... Social media is a huge part of it too nowadays. And I want you to make us... human. We do not stand above the law, just because we're super-powered doesn't mean we are super-human. I think that you are the perfect person for that job. If you want it."

A shit-eating grin split Darcy's face as she squeezed them all together and took a selfie. "Guess who's the newest Avengers, bitches! This is gonna be _awesome_!"

Her fingers were already typing as she continued grinning. Tony had been thinking about this for a while. Actually, Peter had given him the idea. The boy's been following Darcy's twitter for years now, loving every Thor post she had to offer, back when Jane and Thor had still been dating. Peter had said that Darcy managed to take a literal god and made him look like that sweet neighbor from next door who'd help the elderly lady with her groceries. And that was true. Without Darcy's posts, all people would have on Thor were his fights – but thanks to her, they got to see Thor as _human_. And that was something that the new Avengers would inherently need too.

/break\

"No! Spiderling, take my coffee mug off the ceiling, right now, or I swear, I will give you a blue and red wedgy you will never forget in your life!"

"It was an accident, Rhodey! I _swear_! Vision startled me."

"I apologize. I am trying, but... if you were able to walk through walls..."

Tony smiled to himself as he entered the kitchen in the mansion to find Peter, Rhodey and Vision there. It was warm. It felt like coming home. Tony had been missing that about the Avengers Facilities. They had never felt like home. The team had never _quite_ felt like family.

"Children, I'm home. How were your assignments?", asked Tony as he rounded the corner.

Peter's face fell a little. "They're not interested. And Miss Jones is _a really scary lady_. But their... uh... lawyer – they have a blind lawyer? And he said that the Defenders aren't much for team-play – which is super weird if you already have a team-name, I think – but that, and that's Miss Jones' words, 'if shit hits the fan', they'd come and back us up. I brought her card."

Tony hummed and patted Peter on the back. "That's what I was expecting."

"What? Then why did you send me?", asked Peter, sounding like a sad puppy.

"They're very much like our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Well, more R-rated. But they each seem to have their neighborhood to defend", replied Tony. "That's why I sent _you_ , because they might find something relatable in you. And allies are worth a lot, kiddo. Don't underestimate that."

"Okay, Mister Stark", nodded Peter, looking at him curiously.

"I spread the word. We'll see how many bite", continued Rhodey.

Tony nodded and everyone turned toward Vision. "Professor Xavier apologizes. He does not think that putting mutants into the spotlight like that would be the best idea. The X-Men will stay under the radar for now. But he too assures me that if something huge happens, they will help."

"That's all we can ask for", sighed Tony and nodded.

He had been doubtful about the mutants anyway; it was a _school_ , they were all _kids_. That Xavier was training them to be able to fight was good, but to actually put them in deliberate danger... he had seen where that could lead with Peter. But there was no stopping Peter – even without Tony, Peter would continue putting his life on the line, only he'd be less equipped then. Still, the X-Men had power and having that power as backup would make another Chitauri situation far easier to handle. That was why Tony was doing this. They had been _lucky_ that six people could take on an army of aliens. If the Chitauri ever decided to return for vengeance, then the Avengers alone would not be enough. They needed more man-power. Wakanda. The Defenders. The X-Men. Knowing they would back the Avengers up if push came to shove eased a lot of Tony's nerves.

"Sharon Carter is going to apply for a position", stated Tony fairly certain. "I saw it in her eyes when I left. She's a trained super-spy. Left-over from SHIELD. But I trust her."

He did. He trusted Sharon not to be Natasha. No back-stabbing. Everything that had happened during the Civil War, Tony understood where she had come from, where her faith in Steve had come from, _especially_ in midst of Peggy's death. But Tony could not deny how vital Natasha and her set of skills had been. Only that with Sharon, Tony wouldn't have to fear being betrayed again.

"Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis are going to join us too", continued Tony.

"I know! I saw Darcy's tweet about it!", exclaimed Peter excitedly. "She is _so cool_. And she must have all the best stories about Thor. This is going to be amazing."

Tony briefly regretted this because the combination of Darcy and Peter sounded rather disastrous.

"The three and a half of us, Hope van Dyne, Sharon Carter...", started Rhodey slowly.

"It's a start. The team started with six people. It'll be enough for now", nodded Tony. "We're not expecting any major invasions any time soon. We have... time to build a team around us."

"Time", echoed Rhodey, eyeing Tony suspiciously to check if he really thought that.

And he did. Over the past week, more and more tension had eased off of him. Between T'Challa's offer, the slowly forming team, the set plans they had for where they would take the team. There was a future – and Tony Stark was a futurist. He had no time to let the past eat him up alive when he had a bright future to plan for a team worth the effort.

"Now, I think there was a science project where my spitballing expertise was needed?", asked Tony. "How about we do that in the lab, _after_ you got Rhodey's mug down from the ceiling?"

Peter stared at him in excitement. Honestly, Tony loved mentoring him. Peter was filled with brilliant ideas, he just needed someone with the resources and someone willing to encourage him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Loki this chapter. He doesn't exactly have a lot going on, being cooped up on the ship. More Avengers process instead! And yes Peggy/Angie, because YEEES. I just love the idea of aunts Peggy and Angie babysitting tiny Sharon and teenaged Tony.
> 
> And yes, while acknowledging that the Defenders are A Thing That Exists, they're not going to explicitely be in this story. I gave up on those shows a while ago because they're not my cup of tea and I also don't quite see them as big team-players who'd be all into joining the Avengers. They had enough problems even forming the Defenders, after all... _ (Also, if the new Avengers are like 20+ people, this fic would be a mess :D)
> 
> Next chapter, our new Avengers are actually going to all meet and properly form.


	4. The Future is Female

_Chapter 4: The Future is Female_

Colonel James Rhodes had a _crush_. That was what every scan indicated. At least every one of the advanced new scans FRIDAY had acquired from Peter – who was not supposed to be referred to as Peter when others than the Colonel, the Vision and the Boss were around.

FRIDAY was still a very young AI. She still had a lot to learn. Social cues, the small little nuances of human emotions. Karen had told FRIDAY about crushes and, curious, FRIDAY had asked Peter about it. He had gladly uploaded videos and taught her all the cues to watch out for – FRIDAY was an AI, she was meant to learn, to adapt. So one day, she might become as in tune with Boss as her big brother had been. FRIDAY knew the Boss still mourned JARVIS. FRIDAY did too, or at least she thought she was. JARVIS had always watched over FRIDAY, Karen and the others. When they were still little, young AIs who had not gotten to experience humans fully. She knew she had big shoes to fill and while knowing she could never replace her big brother, she was still determined to learn as much as possible so she could be at Boss' side to the best of her capabilities.

For that, she needed to learn all about humans and the little cues in their body-language. And everything she had learned indicated that Colonel Rhodes had a crush. The wide-eyed look, the gaping-open mouth as he stood there, staring at the woman in front of him, the heat-levels in his cheeks risen in a way that did not indicate a fever. According to Peter, this was _a crush_.

"Captain... Danvers", stated Rhodey slowly, hand still held out, even after having been shook.

"Colonel Rhodes. It's good to see you again", replied the blonde woman with a smile.

"Who—o's your friend, honey-bear?", asked Tony curiously, looking from one to the other. "Military, right? You here for the tactic team recruitment?"

"Captain Carol Danvers", introduced the blonde, shaking Tony's hand. "Me and the colonel met before. Worked together. And no, I'm not here for the tactical team try-outs. While that is how I heard about this, I'm here for the Avengers try-outs."

Smiling politely, she wanted to hand over her documents to Tony, but Vision stepped in and took them instead, knowing Tony didn't like to be handed things. Tony tilted his head curiously as he looked from Carol to Rhodey. So _this_ was Carol? He had heard _a lot_ about her, but never gotten to meet her before. That she thought she had what it took to be an Avenger could be interesting.

"If you don't mind, _the colonel_ , me and the rest of the Avengers are going to review this. Please, go ahead and get warmed up. We will call you all in for the physical test later. Get... acquainted."

Carol nodded and looked at the other two women with her, who were already warming up.

/break\

"Alien-powers", whispered Jane surprised, eyes wide as she watched the blonde captain.

After evaluating the recruits' individual powers, they had matched them up. Vision was testing Captain Danvers, Tony was testing Hope van Dyne and Sharon Carter was paired up with Spider-Man. Jane, Darcy and Rhodey were in the observatory, watching, while FRIDAY was recording it all so they could re-evaluate everything together later on. So far, Jane was simply amazed that this human woman had alien-powers – from her ex-boyfriend, apparently.

"I didn't know about that either", grunted Rhodey with a frown, observing Carol.

"So, another super-strong, super-hot blonde with alien-powers. And another super-spy. And... uh... a pixie?", mused Darcy excitedly, taking photos. "I mean, the wings are rad and the stings are awesome too. She can also majorly kick ass. I think I have to re-evaluate my sexuality."

"They're all very impressive", noted Jane, not minding Darcy. "Sharon Carter's stats are comparable to the Black Widow. Carol Danvers' are... off the roof. I have no data to be compared. Her strength-levels match Captain America. Her military training definitely shows in her fighting style. Hope van Dyne... The technology of the suit is amazing and the way she uses it..."

"All three of them could, potentially, be strong additions to the team", stated Rhodey.

And he kind of hated not being out there with them, also testing. Stupid physical therapy he had to go through. Shuri had told him he would be a hundred percent, but since she had only been able to help him so late after the injury had happened, he'd need to take it slow. It only increased his need to have a proper team there to back Tony up. Someone he could rely on during the fight.

Jane and Darcy had already come to the mansion days ago. Jane had downright squealed when she saw her new labs – Darcy had squealed when she saw the home theater. Peter had squealed when he had seen Darcy, immediately asking for all the Thor-related content. That boy was such a fanboy, Rhodey found it rather amusing. Granted, he had been surprised at first, that Spider-Man was just a fifteen-year-old genius. But having his own experience with fifteen-year-old geniuses, Rhodey also knew the boy wouldn't be stopped from what he set his mind to.

/break\

The team – as it stood right now – was gathered in the home theater, sprawled out on the giant couches. Darcy had made popcorn, Peter had ordered pizza. Well. Spider-Man had. For now, Peter's identity would remain a secret to Darcy, Jane and whoever else might join the team. Secret identities could be used against him and until he truly knew he could trust them – the way he knew he could trust Tony, Happy, Rhodey and Vision – he would keep it under wraps.

"Okay, so, what do we think of the potential newbies?", asked Darcy. "Aside from: Hot damn."

"I honestly think they are all Avengers-material", noted Jane, zooming out.

The video showed all three fights going on parallel. Tony hummed as he took a large bite of his piece of pizza. He looked at his team slowly. Jane and Darcy were still getting settled in – Darcy kept taking pictures of every little corner of the mansion, posting most of them. Jane didn't leave her lab for the first three days, she had to be pried out there for the recruitment try-outs. That was something Tony could really respect. He couldn't wait to have his first actual science session with Jane, if he was being honest. He hadn't really done that since... Bruce took off. Peter, the two of them did occasionally, but it was... different. Yes, Peter was brilliant, but it was still different.

"Sharon gets my vote of confidence", noted Tony. "She's... family."

"Explain", prompted Darcy with a curious frown. "Because she ain't a Stark. ...Right? Oh god! She's like your half-sister because your father had an affair and she is the secret Stark heir-"

"No. Stop talking", groaned Tony a bit amused. "She is the niece of my godmother. We grew up together. I know I can trust her. She was raised by an honorable woman. She knows the values that count. She's a brilliant spy. Strong too. She's a good addition."

"Okay. Tony's vote of confidence, added to the evaluation to her fighting...", sighed Rhodey. "Does _anyone_ have _any_ doubts? Otherwise, we could move on."

"Though we _do_ have a kind of... phase to test if it really works, right?", asked Spider-Man.

His mask was up enough to reveal his mouth so he could eat the pizza, but still hiding the most important parts. Tony turned toward him and nodded slowly, taking another slice of pizza.

"Of course, Spidey", confirmed Tony. "A month, to see how well everyone works as a team. That's how long there is a veto-right for everyone. After that, formal introduction as an official Avenger."

"Okay then. Moving on. Hope van Dyne...", continued Rhodey.

"She's awesome", stated Peter excitedly. "Clever, strong, level-headed."

"True. True. And true", agreed Tony with a frown. "She's... hard to read though. Everything she said checks out. She's a good fighter. But... I'm cautious for now. Once bitten, twice shy."

"Understandable", hummed Jane. "It _is_ a bit... unexpected to have someone just walk right in and ask to become an Avenger. Which, brings me to Captain Danvers."

"Alien-powers!", exclaimed Peter. "That is _so_ cool!"

"Captain Danvers has _my_ vote of confidence", interjected Rhodey.

"Re—eally?", drawled Tony out teasingly, looking at his oldest friend.

"Rhodey glared at him, clearly flustered. "We fought together. I _know_ I can trust her with my life. I _saw_ the way she leads her team. She's military-trained. She's a leader, fighter, strategist."

"Leader?", echoed Tony surprised. "Rhodey-bear. _You_ are the leader of the New Avengers."

Rhodey smiled faintly and shook his head a little. "As of now, I can't join official missions."

Tony had given up leadership of the Avengers. He didn't want it. Being co-leader with Rogers had been... But then Rogers had betrayed him and now Tony was picking up the pieces and he just _couldn't_. He couldn't become the leader of this new team. He really couldn't. So he had asked Rhodey, who had the military training to be a team-leader. Who had the respect of the US government or his past service in the army. Rhodey had agreed, reluctantly, because if there was a burden he could take off Tony's shoulders, he always would. But he too didn't quite feel like it was his position. He had always only become a superhero and joined the Avengers because of Tony.

"Well, let's see how she does. Co-leading is a thing, right?", offered Darcy.

"And depending on how many Avengers there will be in the end, it might be beneficial to have two leaders – to be able to split the team up into two smaller teams for smaller missions. Not all Avengers should be needed at every mission", offered Vision thoughtfully.

"True. True. Let's see how it goes", agreed Tony.

/break\

"After evaluating your tests and your resumes, the team came to an unanimous decision. With that, I'd like to welcome you ladies to the Avengers", announced Tony with his press-smile.

He shook their hands, one by one – Sharon, Hope, Carol. Still doubtful about the latter. She had gotten her alien-abilities from her alien ex-boyfriend (at that point, Jane had made three crosses that she had never received any residue lightning powers from Thor). So far, she had always just used it during her own missions. When the Avengers had formed, she had started following the news. But they seemed to be handling things well. Now that they had kind of ceased existing, she figured it was time to put her powers to good use to protect the planet.

"In the documents you sent, it said that housing could be provided?", inquired Hope curiously. "Living with a Stark would guarantee less visits from my father. And Stark labs _are_ top-notch."

"Of course, Miss van Dyne", confirmed Tony, still smiling. "If you want, housing will be provided. You gotta buy your own food and clothing though."

"...Obviously", grunted Carol with a doubtful look.

"The last blonde captain who was on this team didn't think so", drawled Tony unimpressed. "Upgrades to your weapons and suits are part of the deal though. Gotta keep the Avengers top-notch. Everything else, you gotta buy for yourself. There _is_ a communal kitchen, a living room, home theater... Oh, just... Darcy, would you mind giving them a tour?"

"Fi—irst. Group-shot", declared Darcy, herding the Avengers together.

Tony smiled as he stood between Rhodey and Sharon, with Peter in front of him and Vision floating behind them, Carol and Hope on Rhodey's other side, while Jane stood next to Sharon. The New Avengers. Looked good together. Darcy grinned like a maniac as she started tagging it.

"She...", started Hope curiously, turning toward Tony but motioning at Darcy.

"Social media PR manager. Part of the Avengers", confirmed Tony.

"Interesting", hummed Hope with a slow nod. "Labs...?"

"Will be provided. Give it some time so they can be prepared", replied Tony. "Labs are in the west wing though. Communal labs, as well as Doctor Foster's."

"And... yours?", asked Sharon slowly.

"Off-limits", stated Tony seriously. "All private areas and labs can only be entered with the right clearance. Unless you tell FRIDAY that someone has explicit access to your private quarters, you can assume it's all yours. My private labs _are_ off-limits. There are SI projects being worked on and things that have no relations to the Avengers. They're in the basement, shut off."

"Okay! Now, let me show you around!", declared Darcy excitedly.

Sharon exchanged a last look with Tony before she allowed herself to be dragged off, together with Hope and Carol. Tony smiled pleased to himself. Between himself, Rhodey, Vision, Sharon, Hope and Carol, the Avengers could in theory be a pretty strong team. They'd have to train to actually become a team first, of course, and Rhodey needed medical clearance. But... this was genuinely making Tony optimistic about the future of the Avengers.

/break\

Peter was jogging down the streets. He was running late to a meeting with Mister Stark. Tony. Tony. He was officially allowed to call Iron Man by his first name. The grin on his lips nearly split his face in half. When Tony had invited him to help the Avengers, that might have been the most awesome moment in his life. But when Tony then continued mentoring, helping him out, _respecting him_ – treating him like his opinion mattered – that was just mind-blowing.

He paused when he felt his spider-sense tingling _hard_. He nearly stumbled. Slowly turning around, he tried to find the source of whatever had made his spider-senses go haywire. Yet as he zoomed in on the source... all he saw was a teenaged girl. About his age. She was startlingly pale, with long, black hair. The black and dark-green dress she was wearing was fluttering in the wind. Peter had no idea what about her had set him off, but the way she was staring at the Avengers Mansion was definitely not reassuring. Smiling in a non-threatening manner, he rounded her to talk to her.

The smile nearly slipped off his face as he looked at her. The sharp cheekbones, the very intense, piercing emerald-eyes. She reminded him of someone. Not that he had seen her before, per say, but she definitely looked familiar. In a chilling spider-senses-are-right kind of way.

"Hello there!", greeted Peter, trying to sound and look casual.

"Interesting", hummed the girl as she tilted her head and looked him up and down.

"Uhm? Thanks?", grunted Peter a bit confused. "I was just... wondering... are you lost?"

"Isn't every living being wandering the surface lost?", mused the girl with a secretive smile.

"Okay. Sure. Uh. This house you're staring at, it's kinda... not for the public so you shouldn't try to enter it", offered Peter. "I know it's like super tempting, go and meet the Avengers-"

"Yes, very. Father told me a lot about them", agreed the girl. "The man with the heart of glass that can not be corrupted. I would like to meet him."

"Heart of...", echoed Peter confused. "Oh. Oh, you mean Tony, right? The ARC reactor! Heh. Heart of glass. That's a cool one. Have to tell him. So, your dad... he... around here somewhere? Maybe I could, uh, bring you to him? Getting lost in New York as a tourist can be dangerous. I'm Peter."

"You're kind, Peter", said the girl with a bright smile, bouncing on the balls of her bare feet. "No one aside from father and my brothers has just been kind to me in a... long, long time."

That was when Peter noticed her ice-blue lip-stick. A bit out of place, but she actually rocked it. With her pale complexion, it made her look nearly as though she was frozen, or something. The whole barefoot in New York thing was concerning too. Something about this girl was really off.

"I... uhm... my aunt and uncle taught me to be nice to people?", offered Peter a little lost.

"Then I will be nice to you too", smiled the girl and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

He startled – surprised by the kiss and by just how _freezing_ it was. Had there been a mirror close by, he would have seen the blue snowflake-like mark on his cheek before it melted and disappeared. The girl smiled at him as she stepped away from him.

"No harm will come to you", assured the girl. "Oh. I think your father is looking for you."

"My-", started Peter confused and turned into the direction she was pointing. "Oh, no, that's Tony-"

When he turned back to her, the girl was gone. Just vanished. Shuddering, Peter looked around. Whoever – or whatever – that girl was, something told him he'd see her again.

"Petey-pie. What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost", commented Tony.

"I don't know", frowned Peter and shook his head. "Sorry, Mister—Tony. I think it was nothing. Anyway! Let's go inside! Science is waiting, right?"

Tony laughed and clasped a hand on his shoulder before steering him over toward the mansion. Peter loved coming to the lab, sciencing with Tony. Especially since Tony took his ideas seriously, helped Peter develop them – helped him with the angles Peter had a problem with.

/break\

Jane sighed, brushing her hair out of her face and pinning it up in a bun. She was exhausted. She had spent the past three days barely leaving the lab. She was just too in love with it. It had now been a week that Jane and Darcy had moved into the Avengers Mansion and honestly, she was pretty content with it. The lab was simply a dream _._ Though her private quarters were too. She had an entire suit to herself – so did Darcy, but Darcy still kept hanging out at her place most of the time. Though unlike Jane, Darcy also made it her business to explore the entire, giant mansion. It seemed that she was also trying to get to know the Avengers – which, did seem practical considering Darcy's new position. To make them look good, she had to know them. Had to know what was good about them and what might need some tweaking on social media.

"Doctor Foster. Captain Danvers is requesting entry to your lab", stated FRIDAY, startling her.

"W... What? Why?", asked Jane surprised, automatically looking up at the ceiling.

"She says she has been observing your research for years and she would now like to... trade alien knowledge with you", offered FRIDAY. "She seems genuine in her interest."

"...Let her in for now. No permanent access granted", stated Jane after a moment, frowning.

Carol entered, smiling. She was impressive, to say the least. A well-trained woman carrying herself with purpose. Even in sweat-pants and a tank-top did she look absolutely amazing. Between all those well-trained powerful women – Sharon, Carol and Hope – Jane started to feel like the nerd in high school, watching the jocks. Only that so far, the jocks were pretty nice. Not that Jane had talked a lot with them just yet; it had only been three days since the other three women had moved in and they were still pretty much busy getting settled or training. The training plan was pretty harsh – though Jane understood why Rhodey had set it like that. They were a bunch of strangers right now, who needed to find a way to synchronize with each other. For that, they needed to spend a lot of time together, fighting together. Because if the Avengers got called out to their first mission before they were in sync, they would face a shit-storm from the media. Many were already voicing concerns. That Tony Stark was scrambling to try and replace the Rogue Avengers, that no one could ever replace Captain America, that this team would inevitably fail. It was for the sells, really. 'Avengers Doing Great!' was just not the kind of headline that sold.

"Captain Danvers. What can I do for you?", asked Jane with a smile.

"Carol, please. We're on the same team now", offered Carol, returning Jane's smile before pulling up a chair and sitting down on it backward. "And it's more a matter of what I can do for you. I know you specialize in alien technology. Asgardian. Chitauri. I figured..." She paused and wet her lips. "Stark's right with one thing. Whatever had sent the Chitauri might come back. Or something entirely different. There is a whole galaxy of threats out there and we need to be prepared. To our best capabilities. That means broadening our horizon. For that, I'd like to offer our local alien-expert what little knowledge I have of Kree technology."

Jane perked up at that. "I am all ears, Cap—Carol."

/break\

"You are amazing. I never believed in the Tooth Fairy, but if she'd looked like you, da—amn, girl", muttered Darcy in awe as she whirled around to follow Hope.

Hope had shrunk down in her suit, fluttering about like a fairy. She was posing for Darcy. The fairy look gave them major sympathy points with the little kids. While the sparring between Carol and Sharon gave them major points from the creepy weirdos, but oh well. Though there were generally a lot of positive voices of young women and girls, feeling encouraged by the new Avengers line-up. Prior, it had been a bit of a boys' club. The Black Widow – a secretive spy who avoided the press and thus was never truly present or could be paid attention to – and the Scarlet Witch – who with her magic-abilities alone, as well as her doubtful involvement with HYDRAm had never exactly been a fan-favorite either. Aside from those two? Bruce, Thor, Tony, Sam, Rhodey, Vision, Clint, Steve – all the _popular_ or prominent Avengers were men. A ratio of one to four was, honestly, a little pathetic. The new stats had really given the Avengers a boost in that department. Women could be heroes too. Women could be leading scientists too. Darcy grinned as she tagged the latest picture – a shot of Sharon blocking a kick from Carol, with Hope flying in – as #theFutureIsFemale.

"You know, you could get some training in too, Darce", offered Hope as she unshrunk herself.

"Ye—eah. No. Watching hot people sweat: Yes. Sweating myself: No", grinned Darcy.

/break\

Sif sighed and let herself collapse next to Thor. There were no words to express how grateful she was that he had survived. Losing the Warriors Three, losing... everyone. That her oldest friend had remained not unharmed but at least alive, it was a great comfort.

"Are you hiding from the Valkyrie again, Sif?", asked Thor with an amused grin.

"Brunnhilde is... nice. A good sparring partner. But her attempts at courting are... sadder than yours were", muttered Sif fondly and shook her head. "It's... quite exhausting."

"If you are not interested in her, you should just tell her", offered Thor with a frown.

"It's not... that I am not... interested", huffed Sif with a slight blush. "She's... very attractive. And funny. It's the drinking. I have been with someone who took partying and drinking to the extreme before and it jeopardized our relationship, if I might remind you."

"...Ah. Yeah", grunted Thor sheepishly, ruffling his own hair.

"Maybe, when we reach Midgard. Maybe, when things settle. Maybe, when she starts actually trying, for earnest", sighed Sif, running her fingers through her own hair. "Rather tell me about your plans. We're returning to Midgard. You gonna try... apologize to Jane? Get back together? Since this time, we're... staying on Midgard for... for good."

"Ah, no", sighed Thor and hunched over a little. "I hurt her a lot. Constantly leaving. She worried, waited for me for months and years – which mean a lot to a human. When I broke up with her, I did it because I did not want to keep her waiting once more. I had my shot and I messed it up. She deserves to move on from that. I do hope she found – or will find – someone to match her."

Sif hummed, eyes soft. "You changed a lot, Thor. You matured a lot."

Thor huffed, with a nearly pout on his lips, turning away. "We all have."

Sif turned to follow his gaze, spotting Loki where the trickster was talking to Bruce and Heimdall – they had been working on trying to fix the Bifrost, with magic and science. Maybe Thor was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then, Peter made a new friend! Isn't that nice? ;D
> 
> Nooow, next chapter will see the return of T'Challa for his own try-outs. And Shuri, of course, can not let her brother go and do that alone. Whiiich means our favorite science geeks are about to meet!


	5. The On-Coming Storm

_Chapter 5: The On-Coming Storm_

Loki frowned as he stared out of the window into the endless depth of the universe. Traveling like this was simply _unpleasant_. He did miss the Bifrost. And while not having the best track-record with either Heimdall or Bruce Banner, the three of them were the best shot they all had at fixing the Bifrost. Perhaps they could manage to send someone ahead of the ship – telling Midgard of the refugees that would come and seek protection. Obviously Thor and Banner, with them having ties to Midgard. But there was no way Loki would be left behind on this mind-numbingly boring ship.

"Father. You look bored."

Not that he would admit it, but Loki was genuinely startled. Not many people managed to startle Loki Friggason. He might still deny Odin – especially after the lies about their older sister Aldrif – but he had come to accept that, in his own way, he was a part of the Asgardian royal family. Frigga had been his mother. The only mother he had ever known. And in her death, he would honor her.

"You need to stop sneaking up on me, Hela", sighed Loki displeased.

The black-haired teenager with the pale skin smiled at him charmingly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Hela. The apple of his eye. His precious little girl. The _mistake_ he had made when he was just a teen himself. Foolishly sneaking around. Odin had made sure mother and daughter would be out of sight – Helheim, not quite banished but also not welcomed on Asgard anymore. Loki sneaked away regularly to visit his little girl. She grew up with her brothers – Loki's rebellious phase, involving a lot of shapeshifting, leading to what Odin _truly_ would not accept as _heirs_. No one talked about them, no one knew about them. And by now, Loki knew why Odin had so expertly been able to handle that. He had experience in making unwanted heirs disappear. After taking over for Odin, Loki had gone and invited his children back to Asgard. Jörmungand and Fenrir had already found their own places, while Hela had grown to be queen of Helheim, no need to be an underling on any other world while she could be a queen in her own. Loki could respect that decision.

"How long have you been on this ship?", asked Loki with a stern frown. "You should have come to me sooner. I thought you were safe on Helheim. So you were on Asgard during the attack? Are your brothers here too? Or did they... not..."

"Jörm and Fen are fine, father", assured Hela. "They are back home, being lazy. Like always. I have only been on the ship for a few moments. After Asgard's destruction – which did send ripples through all realms – I went looking for you. _I_ was worried! I thought you-"

Frown melting, Loki reluctantly opened his arms and pulled his daughter into a hug. "I apologize for worrying you, princess. Alas, the Bifrost has been destroyed and all means of communication with other worlds have been shut-down by the destruction of Asgard."

"That is most unpleasant", frowned Hela annoyed, crossing her arms over her chest. "But I am glad you and uncle Thor are safe. What are your plans, father? You _always_ have a plan."

Smiling amused, Loki sat down on the couch, motioning for his daughter to join him. "It's... not too much of a plan. We're heading to Midgard. Thor plans on rejoining his... merry band of superheroes. I'm... sure I can have some fun with the mortals."

"I went to Midgard", hummed Hela and tilted her head. "Had hoped you might have avoided Asgard's destruction by being there and playing with the mortals again. You did say you were curious about the mortal with the heart of glass, so I sought him out and hoped to find you."

"Stark", whispered Loki, the name rolling off his tongue easily.

It was true. After the Chitauri invasion, he had been a tad-bit... interested... in this particular mortal. The mortal with the heart of glass that could not be corrupted, not even by one of the Infinity Stones. The human among super-humans. Between Thor, Banner and the Captain, the squishy mortals stood out. Anthony Stark, the Widow and the archer. Loki knew Stark had flown the nuke through the portal, vaporizing the Chitauri army. A single human taking out Thanos' army. Absolutely fascinating. The banter and quipping he had to offer to Loki when faced with the trickster, without true fear. He was an intriguing mortal. Loki would have liked to learn more. Well, Thor had already told him plenty more. There was not much to do on the ship, so most of the time, Thor – with occasional notes from Bruce – would tell of his bravery on Midgard. The tales of the mighty Avengers. They served to reassure the Asgardians that the place they were heading for was protected, was safe, was with _good people_. Loki, for the most part, found them rather boring. Banner's tales of Stark were far more fascinating – the scientist could not keep himself from mentioning Stark's name every so often while working on the Bifrost, to the point that Heimdall grew curious about Stark too, asking questions about the man.

"I like his son", noted Hela after a long stretch of silence, startling Loki.

"I'm sorry, his what?", asked Loki surprised.

"His son. Peter. He was very nice to me. When I was looking for you, he asked me if I was lost and if he could help me", smiled Hela. "No one is ever just... nice to me."

When she turned to look at her father, she finally dropped the glamour. It was exhausting to keep it up for long, even for someone as powerful as her. She did not have Loki's natural shapeshifting abilities, all she could do to hide her true appearance was a powerful magical glamour. Her left half looked Asgardian, but her entire right half was Frost Giant. Blue, frozen. Loki sighed and cupped his daughter's blue-skinned cheek. Back when she had been born, he had blamed her mother – a Frost Giant – but now he suspected he had more to do with this than her. Hela's magic in general was different than Loki's. It was why she was here now, why she could be here now, why she had been able to go to Midgard. Her magic was linked to darkness and she could travel through it. Where there were shadows, she could travel.

"That is very good, princess", nodded Loki, unsure what else to say.

Being queen of Helheim had only been _one_ of the reasons she had decided to stay away. The other reason was her appearance and her fear of judgment. She had never faced a stranger's kindness. If this... child had been kind to Hela, Loki was rather looking forward to meeting him. Peter Tonyson.

/break\

Accord meetings were always rather tedious and exhausting. There were those who had corrupted notions of what should happen, yes. With crazy and unrealistic ideas of how the Avengers should be controlled. And that was why voices like Tony Stark and T'Challa were important. Voices of reason, redirecting what was important. They needed regulations. Check-ins. Responsibility. For screw-ups in the field to be re-evaluated and judged. For other countries to feel _safe_ again. Because Germany was not a fan of the Avengers after they had just marched in, destroyed an entire airport over an internal disagreement, with no super-villain in sight. Such things could not happen again. They simply couldn't. On the other hand, countries also wanted to be able to call the Avengers for backup. A thing like the Chitauri invasion could very easily happen in any other country – a country that was not lucky enough to have its own super-powered team of heroes at the ready. The Avengers were not supposed to become lapdogs, dancing by the tune of the government, as Captain Rogers had feared. It was about people who _needed_ their help being able to reach them and people hurt by them being able to hold them responsible. Plain and simple. Only that in bureaucracy, nothing was plain or simple. Many draining and long meetings were being held. The Accords, as an organization, needed branches in its various countries. A system, to contact the Avengers. To provide intel and military back-up in case the Avengers were needed. They were currently discussing having recruitment of their own Avengers in other countries. After all, not every super-human being lived in the United States of America. As T'Challa very much _knew_ first hand.

It were all of those details to be ironed out that were so extremely draining for T'Challa, but considering he had plans on backing the Avengers up when need be, considering he was the king of a nation and did not want something like in Germany to happen in his own country – especially not now that he had opened the borders of Wakanda – it was a cause very dear to him.

"How's Baloo doing?"

T'Challa suppressed a smile as he turned toward Tony Stark. That man truly was a different brand, one that everybody had to get used to first. T'Challa had gotten used to it surprisingly fast. Wearing a dark-gray suit with a blood-red dress-shirt, Tony adjusted his glasses and offered... a basket.

"It is good to see you, Mister Stark. May I ask what that is...?", asked T'Challa curiously.

Okoye next to him stood at attention, seeing every such offering as a potential threat to her king. For now, T'Challa motioned for her and the Dora Milaje to stand down. Tony smiled brightly.

"With the kindest regards from Roberta Rhodes", offered Tony. "You made her baby-boy walk again, for good, something she thought she might never see. She insisted, the least she could do is make you and your sister some good, home-made brownies."

Surprised and perhaps a little flustered did T'Challa accept the gift-basket. "Please, tell her this was not necessary but that me and my sister will greatly enjoy the treat."

"Believe me, she would not accept a no anyway. That woman would rather walk all the way to Wakanda and put the plate down in front of you than accept a no on food", chuckled Tony.

T'Challa smiled fondly at that. "She sounds like an impressive woman. Though I suppose, she must be strong, considering the company her son has been keeping for years now."

For a moment, Tony looked stunned, but then he started laughing. "Oh. I see someone does have a sense of humor. How nice. Yes, well, the woman probably could wrangle the Avengers all by herself and make everyone stand in line and at attention with one serious look."

Pleased, T'Challa nodded. "Speaking of the Avengers..."

"Ah, yes. Your own try-out session", smirked Tony, a sparkle in his eyes. "Gotta admit, I am looking forward to seeing you in action – there was not much time to actually watch anyone the last time we fought, was there? If you'd like to come over to the mansion after the meeting, Carol has offered to be your sparring partner for the physical test."

"Carol...?", echoed T'Challa, drawing a blank.

"Captain Carol Danvers of the US Air Force", offered Tony in explanation. "One of three as of now still unofficial new Avengers. Trial period, you may say."

T'Challa nodded. Three new recruits. That was rather reassuring, at least judging by the proud way in which Tony puffed his chest out. Something he would not be doing if they were not living up to expectations. The test would prove to be a good chance for T'Challa to assess the new Avengers too. Something that he, after the way the last Avengers had come apart, did find important.

"Doctor Stark. I was hoping to run into you."

T'Challa raised his eyebrows at that interruption. He didn't think he'd ever heard anyone refer to Tony Stark as a doctor, despite his multiple PhDs. Somehow, it was a fact that seemed to be deliberately overlooked, T'Challa assumed. It was harder to sell someone as a non-serious, partying drunk when the headline started with 'Doctor'. A way to undermine him, most likely. And a man like Tony Stark would not correct it; it would only make him look shallow and self-centered. Interested in who it was who would address Tony with his well-deserved title, he froze. Unintentionally so. He did not mean to – he saw it in Okoye's eyes though that he actually _did_ freeze. The woman was simply stunning. Gorgeous, elegant, in a long dark-blue dress, her snow-white hair standing out in particular, her eyes like storm-clouds, her lips pulled into a soft and beautiful smile. She looked ethereal, her beauty stunning him to the point that Tony cleared his throat to get his attention.

"As I was just saying, King T'Challa, this is Professor Ororo Munroe. An... acquaintance", stated Tony, mirth dancing in his eyes that told T'Challa he too had seen him freeze.

"King T'Challa. It is an honor", said Ororo with a smile, bowing a little.

"That is not necessary, Professor Munroe!", assured T'Challa hastily. "I, ah..."

He was lost for words. Ororo smiled at him, tilting her head. He hadn't frozen like that in many years, since he and Nakia had first... But oh, that had not worked out. He had thought, or hoped, she could be his queen. He knew her goals for the people and country, she would make an excellent queen. But she was not meant to be tied down, to be cooped up in the palace and rule. She craved the missions, the excitement, being there, personally, and helping people. She was a spy first. And what they once had was more the tenderness of friendship by now. They had parted as friends, when she had left for her latest mission. He had not mourned it, knowing it was the best for them both.

"Professor Munroe is here out of... personal interests in the laws surrounding superheroes", tagged Tony on casually, though T'Challa felt like he was skipping something there.

"It is quite fascinating", admitted Ororo with a smile, tucking her white hair behind her ear.

Even her _ears_ were pretty. How was that... T'Challa shook his head, trying to focus.

"It indeed is", agreed T'Challa. "It's a topic anyone should be interested in, truly. What happened... it could happen anywhere, in any city or country. And we need regulations, to make it safe."

"We do", confirmed Ororo. "Though we do have to be... careful about the regulations too. I have seen them try to sneak certain clauses into the Accords. Dangerous clauses."

"The super-human registration act", sighed Tony and shook his head. "Well, we did shut that down, for now. Registration for humans in such a manner... never quite works out well."

"We can not start treating people like they are weapons and not humans", agreed Ororo firmly.

Her voice was cold, not allowing any argument against it. T'Challa, as such a super-human himself thanks to the heart-shaped fruit, had to whole-heartedly agree to that notion though. In the end, it had mostly been nipped because it was unrealistic – who would and how would they do it, where would the responsibility lay, what would be the end of it. All it would cause would be a mass-hysteria and a potential uprising. Most super-humans were just calmly living among everyone else. The bad guys? They were not going to _allow_ to be registered and they would most definitely cause problems anyway. The good guys? There was no need for such a thing. They already had their data, simply based on them already working for the Accords. No, T'Challa had fought tooth and nail to shut that down. The notion was mortifying, truly.

"Your passion on the topic was quite... captivating", smiled Ororo, looking at T'Challa.

"I... Thank... Thank you, Professor Munroe", replied T'Challa, feeling his cheeks heat up. "It is... very near and dear to me, personally."

"As much as I do hate to interrupt... whatever this is...", drawled Tony mischievously. "Professor Munroe, I think you wanted something from me? And we should get to it before the break ends and we have to listen to Ross verbally jerk off for another half an hour. Toothless, we talk later?"

"Toothless...?", echoed T'Challa, confused by this one.

"Look him up. Lots of comparisons with kittens", called Tony as he and Ororo walked off. "Now, what is it that Mister Clean wants from me, that he sent you to pass a message, Ororo...?"

/break\

"I liked the tower better. It looked far more impressive than this old-fashioned thing."

"Shuri", hissed T'Challa. "Show a basic minimum of respect. Please. I am unsure if you can even be here. This is _my_ test, not yours. So at least don't be disrespectful."

"Ah, brother, calm down", huffed Shuri as she looked around eagerly. "This is— _How_ are you on the ceiling? What kind of technology are you using for that? I've been trying to figure that out to make wall-climbing easy for T'Challa for months now!"

Spider-Man fell rather gracelessly from the ceiling and landed with a dull sound. T'Challa blinked slowly, mildly amused. His sister's enthusiasm _was_ rather overwhelming for newbies. Turning some, T'Challa saw Tony Stark, Colonel Rhodes and three women walk toward them.

"King T'Challa. Princess Shuri", greeted the colonel, shaking both their hands. "Thank you, once more. Please, let me introduce you to three of the newest members of the team. Captain Danvers, Doctor Foster and Darcy Lewis."

"It's a pleasure to meet you", nodded T'Challa, greeting each of the women.

"Hope, Sharon and Vision are on a mission – a minor thing, though we're on stand-by for now. So, your try-outs might be interrupted if the evil robot downtown needs more hands on deck."

"Of course, Tony", nodded T'Challa in understanding. "Now, where do we... go for this?"

Tony clapped once and turned around, leading them toward the training area. At the tail-end were Shuri and Spider-Man. Tony kept watching from the corner of his eyes.

"I—This isn't technology. This is me. I'm sticky. It's part of the spider-deal", explained Peter.

"Oh. That is _handy_. Though you can be glad it didn't come with four more limbs", mused Shuri.

"Urgh. Horrifying", yelped Peter with a shudder.

"I think he can be glad that he isn't shooting his webs out of his-", started Darcy.

"Darcy! Enough. You're making both Spider-Man and the princess uncomfortable", chided Jane.

"No, I think she's right", assured Spider-Man with a laugh.

"I think it's totally fascinating", declared Shuri. "I'd love to study the natural stickiness. It still works even through the suit. Maybe it can be recreated."

"Only if you tell me more about that cool new suit of your brother!", declared Spider-Man excitedly as he watched T'Challa's suit cover his body. " _That_ is awesome. I am so sick of getting changed in a back-alley! I mean, I love the suit, but _that_ looks really cool."

"I think trades could be made in the name of science", grinned Shuri as she looked at him.

"Sciencing! Awesome! Rhodey, you handle testing the king! I bring the scientists to the lab!", declared Darcy. "Even _I_ have my limits on seeing pretty people fight. This could be more interesting. Janie, Tony, come with me. To the Science Cave."

"Science Cave?", echoed Shuri curiously, looking from Darcy over to her brother.

"Go with them", chuckled T'Challa with a nod.

"Carol and I will handle it", assured Rhodey amused. "You go have fun with science."

Jane made an excited sound as she, Tony, Shuri and Peter headed over toward the shared lab. At first, Jane had mostly only stayed in her private lab. She had only moved to the common lab two weeks ago for the first time, because her own lab had been embarrassingly littered. Tony had been in the common lab, with Spider-Man – because DUM-E had covered Tony's lab with fire-extinguisher foam to the point that they couldn't stay in there any longer. Slowly, tentatively, they had gotten used to discussing science with each other. Working together. Currently, the three were dissecting the Bifrost, in an attempt to replicate it for Earth. Teleportation. It was so good to have other brilliant minds with her. _Friends_. She hadn't expected that joining a team would be like this.

"There was something I wanted to run by you, princess", drawled Tony reluctantly as they entered the common lab. "I know you have the... Popsicle in Wakanda..."

Shuri barely raised an eyebrow at that. She figured he knew. He was a genius too, after all – and tracking Barnes down to Wakanda didn't even take a genius at all. In her own way, she admired Tony Stark. Just because she had a higher IQ didn't mean she couldn't admire the things he did with his. Arrogance was unfitting for a princess, or so her mother liked to say. Those who respect their peers make allies for the future and even a genius who stood unparalleled can't solve all the world's problems all on her own, was what her father used to say.

"Spit it out, Tin-Can Man", ordered Shuri, tilting her head.

Tony blinked and laughed at that. "I was wondering if you have found a solution to the... situation."

"Didn't have that much time to work on it yet", huffed Shuri. "He's only been with us for two months now. We had a bit of a rebellion followed by us opening our borders to the world for the first time and cleaning up the rebellion left-overs. Other priorities than one broken white boy."

Tony nodded at that and stepped up to one of the desks, getting something out. "Don't know if you saw my spectacular presentation of this, but BARF... might help you. It's meant to alter memories. Adjusted, with some work, it might help delete the conditioning in the sergeant's mind."

Jane and Spider-Man looked up surprised at that and then exchanged a look. They knew, vaguely, what had happened. No details, but that the Winter Soldier had killed Howard and Maria Stark.

"Big and clunky-", started Shuri skeptically before pausing. "Can slim it down. Make it useful for the task. Saves me time on the basics. Why, though? He... killed your parents? I saw the news."

Tony shrugged, averting his eyes. "James Barnes did not. The Winter Soldier did. The mind-controlled weaponized super-soldier did. This... can help put an end to the Winter Soldier and bring back James Barnes. No one deserves to be robbed of his own free will."

And he meant it. He had spent so much time thinking about James Barnes. When he had lashed out in Siberia, it had been the anguish of learning the truth and that Steve had known the truth and opted not to tell him, had chosen Bucky over Tony. If Steve had told Tony years ago – _two years ago_ – Tony would have been angry, would have drunk a lot, wallowed in self-pity. Then, he could have cleared his head and could have moved on from it. He was a rational man, for the most part, after all. He knew Bucky had no control over what he had done as the Winter Soldier.

"Okay. How about we move on to less depressing things and experiment on the Spider?", asked Darcy loudly, interrupting the dark moment. "Let's see what makes him stick!"

"Hey! I'm not a lab-rat!", protested Spider-Man.

"No. You're a lab-spider", grinned Shuri, getting out a pad.

/break\

Carol stood on the balcony, arms crossed on the balustrade, leaning against them. They had a beautiful view on Central Park, but her eyes were drawn up to the sky. The stars. The universe.

"Can't sleep either?"

Startled, Carol turned a little to see Tony join her. The scientist was holding two cups of coffee and placed one next to Carol before leaning against the balustrade with his back, turned a little to face Carol curiously. Since moving in not even a month ago, she hadn't quite gotten to spend too much time with their host. He mostly kept to himself, to his quarters and his private labs, sometimes locked in there for days. It was a recent development that he would spend time in the open lab with Jane. Though to be honest, Carol had enough on her plate without trying to buddy up to Tony Stark. Being back on Earth permanently like that, being an Avenger now – she had to get used to the mansion, had spent the entire first week just exploring the giant building. She spent most of her time training with Hope, Sharon, Vision and occasionally Spider-Man (Spider-Boy. She might not have seen him without a mask yet but body-build and voice indicated him to be adolescent). Both Rhodey and Tony were not yet cleared for fighting and active duty – Rhodey after his surgery in Wakanda last month and Tony who was still recovering from whatever had happened in Siberia (Carol had tried reading up on it as best as she could, yet nothing explained why Tony Stark had once again the ARC Reactor in his chest). The Avengers truly had needed fresh blood. Back-up. And so far, Carol had to say that she enjoyed being an Avenger. She got along particularly well with Hope and found Darcy very entertaining, while she also truly appreciated working with Rhodey again. James Rhodes was a good man and she knew she could rely on him in the field – she couldn't to rely on him in the field, once he was cleared for duty again.

"I have a feeling", hummed Carol. "Like something big is coming. Like a storm is brewing."

"This is New York. There's always something big coming", chuckled Tony dryly. "Let it come."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know to what extend the X-Men are going to play into this beyond Ororo, but for the record, we're not sticking to the movie-verse (heck not even the movie-verse is sticking to the movie-verse anymore...) or any of the cartoons, if anything I'd remodel my own lineup and timeline for the X-Men, meaning right now we're still in the "no one really knows about mutants or sees them as a threat" because anything else would wildly clash with the fact that mutants never found any acknowledgment in the MCU.
> 
> And yes, I teased the Fantastic Four. I love Johnny Storm and later on, when we're done establishing the new Avengers, I think it would be fun for actual-teenager-Johnny-Storm to, you know, work with the teen-line-up *waves into the general direction of Shuri and Peter* Again, not sure about the capacity since this story keeps growing and evolving as it keeps going, but setting up the existence of the Fantastic Four can't hurt. ;)
> 
> Nooow, next chapter is going to feature Iron Dad-ing from Tony and a special guest appearance from Miss Pepper Potts as well as a surprise visitor to the mansion, so stay tuned to see what's going on! ;D


	6. A Strange, New World

_Chapter 6: A Strange, New World_

Rhodey was cleared for duty, moderately so. Smaller missions, for now. He was definitely enjoying that he got to spar with the others again. Tony? He was still on rest. The whole ARC Reactor back in his chest thing had majorly set back his already bad health. So he did the reasonable thing; he was sitting in the observatory, drinking cocktails with Jane and Darcy, watching the others train.

"You know, mixing cocktails might just be your super-power, Darce", stated Tony amused.

"Says the one with a virgin cocktail", chuckled Darcy, lifting her glass.

"And you're _really_ fine with us drinking, Tony?", asked Jane carefully, a bit worried.

"Oh, I'm fine", assured Tony with a smile. "If I couldn't endure it when others drink around me, I could never actually go out on any galas anymore. Which... would be a win for me, I suppose."

"O—Oh, Stark, fork over the money!", exclaimed Darcy excitedly suddenly. "Mine won!"

Huffing, Tony handed over a twenty to Darcy, while Jane shook her head. "I don't know about the moral implications of betting on your team-mates."

"It's all in good fun, Janie", chimed Darcy as she pocketed the twenty in her bra.

"Should have known Rhodey would lose to Carol", grumbled Tony with a frown.

"Think he lost on purpose because of his little crush?", asked Darcy curiously.

"No, but he keeps getting _distracted_ ", countered Tony, taking a slow sip from his glass.

"How lo—ong has he had that crush?", asked Darcy eagerly, pointing at Carol and Rhodey.

"...Ten, twenty years, maybe? I don't know. It comes in phases. Whenever they worked together. But work usually kept them apart", shrugged Tony. "They knew it might be years until they saw each other again. Now that they're working together permanently..."

He grinned amused at that. The crush was really adorable and rather entertaining to watch, but Tony genuinely wanted Rhodey to be _happy_. And never, in all the years they had known each other, had Rhodey talked about anyone with the same proud fondness and awe as he did with Carol.

/break\

Hope was leaning against the counter, a bowl of cereal in her hands as she ate slowly. It was early, too early to actually be fully dressed, so she was just wearing a tank-top and training-pants. At least she looked more presentable than Darcy. Their PR girl was in her pink pajamas with Sailor Moon symbols all over. Her hair was an absolute mess and she was hugging her cup of coffee like it was the Holy Grail. It made Hope smile a bit. She was so very different from the seriousness of the fighting Avengers, but in a way, Darcy and Jane helped keep the team grounded.

"Let me guess, you spent the entire night binge-watching... mh... _Vampire Diaries_?", guessed Hope.

Darcy turned her head to glare up at the other woman. "Maybe I spent all night working. Remodelling your profile. Deciding which pictures put you into the best light. Planning where to take the team together to make the best impression." Hope stared surprised, until Darcy huffed. "Nah. I was watching _Star Trek_ with the nerds, prying them away from their sciencing."

That however made Hope chuckle softly. She knew that Darcy, while wildly encouraging the 'sciencing', was also the one pulling Jane, Tony, Spider-Man and Hope too, when it overcame her, away from their projects, forcing them to eat and sleep in between. It had now been a couple of weeks since the team had formed, they had held their official press-conference to make it public last week. The Avengers were now officially consisting of Tony Stark, James Rhodes, Vision, Carol Danvers, Sharon Carter, Hope van Dyne, Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis. The press was eating it up. Hope could see her image looking back at her from where Sharon was reading the newspaper. Front-page article about how _Spider-Man and the Wasp Save the Day_. Spidey had encountered a problem that was a little too much to handle for one person, so he had called the Avengers for backup. Hope had been happy to help. She understood why he still kept his identity a secret though, considering he was not an official member of the team and after everything he had first-hand witnessed going down between the former Avengers... It was a miracle Tony Stark had opened his home for them all, considering what _he_ had been through.

"Anything interesting happening in the world, Shar?", asked Hope as she finished her cereals.

"Richards announced some plans for his company, so better hide that from Tony", offered Sharon.

"Richards?", asked Jane confused. "Doctor Reed Richards? Why...?"

"Oh, Tony and Reed have been... mortal enemies since college days", offered Rhodey with a chuckle as he entered the kitchen-area. "It's nothing serious, they're just idiots competing. It's not... malicious as Tony's rivalry with Justin Hammer, but Richards and Tony still do not go well."

"So that is why he keeps sneering every time we pass the former Stark Tower?", asked Jane.

"Ye—ep. Richards only bought it to mock Tony", confirmed Rhodey.

"Wait, I read about this, I think", started Hope slowly. "The press painted it as some love-triangle gone wrong. Richards got the girl and Tony held an epic grudge about it."

"Do not ever mention that in the presence of Susan Storm", warned Rhodey seriously. "She _hates_ how this paints her as some trophy to be won, especially since there never was anything between her and Tony, the two were and still are very close friends. But the press liked to paint Tony with his dick in anything that moved back then."

"I feel summoned, are we talking about me?", asked Tony as he sauntered in.

Hope chuckled softly as Tony just seemed to take over the whole room. He had such a strong presence. Not at all how Hope had pictured from her father's stories. Then again, he ever only spoke of Howard and damned Tony for the sins of his father. From everything she had seen in the past weeks, Tony Stark was a good man, she would even go as far as to say that he was working very hard to make up for the sins of his father. Changing the policies of his company, everything that Howard Stark stood for. Working hard to make the world a better place.

/break\

"So, Rhodey, tell me about that _girlfriend_ of yous?", asked Pepper teasingly.

Rhodey sputtered and turned to glare viciously at Tony, who just feigned innocence. Finally, Pepper and Happy had found the time to come to the mansion. Look around, have dinner with Tony and Rhodey. It was a quiet day, with Carol, Vision and Sharon on-call today. Tony had barely gotten to see Pepper at all since... Siberia. She had visited him at the hospital and he had been there when she had announced her engagement to Happy, but considering how many weeks it were... He wished he could spend more time with his best friends, but he also knew they each had their responsibilities.

"Carol is not my girlfriend", grunted Rhodey annoyed. "She is a friend who happens to be a girl."

"A girl he's been talking about since he was a strapping young lad", teased Tony. "He got the whole heart-eyes thing going on when he speaks of what an excellent soldier she was, what a trustworthy, loyal friend. And now they spend all their time sparring and cooking and co-leading the Avengers."

"Co-leading? So, you're already having a work-marriage?", laughed Happy.

"Marriage, huh?", countered Rhodey. "How's the wedding-plans going?"

Effective way to distract and derail the conversation. It was cute, to see Happy and Pepper blush and look at each other while talking about their plans. It was going to be a huge and public event, of course, because Pepper was the CEO of Stark Industries, she was a woman in the public eye.

"How has fatherhood treated you, Tony?", asked Happy lowly while Pepper was discussing the seating arrangement with Rhodey. "I noticed the Spiderling stopped calling me. Because you gave him your direct line and he's been coming over to the mansion a lot. Working with the Avengers."

"I did not adopt the kid", grumbled Tony. "He has a perfectly fine aunt to do all the scary parenting. I'm like... the fun uncle, you know?"

"The kid adores you", pointed Happy out with a frown. "You're his idol. I think you _are_ a father-figure to him. He's trying to follow in your steps."

"Poor kid", muttered Tony beneath his breath.

He knew that, deep down. Peter adored him, that was why Tony was doing his best to be a good role-model to the kid. Encourage his inquisitive mind, give him all the lab-space and equipment he needed. Peter was such a bright and brilliant boy. Sighing, Tony emptied his glass of grape juice.

/break\

"How's school doing, kiddo?", asked Tony, passing Peter a wrench.

"Good. Great. I guess", shrugged Peter. "Ned's pouting because I spend so much time with the Avengers now, but he also thinks it's the coolest thing ever. And now he made a new friend, which I guess, I mean, I don't have that much time for him anymore. And it's not like... Ned's not allowed to make other friends, you know? The guy seems great too, only moved here recently. Miles Morales. I'm trying to get to know him too, but... like I said, not much time."

"Have you considered cutting back _some_ on the heroing?", suggested Tony. "There's the Avengers, there's the Defenders. Spidey helps the little guy, but Spidey also needs to graduate high school and hang out with his friends and aunt."

Peter paused and glowered at Tony. He knew that and he also knew he had an 'Atlas tendency'. To shoulder the weight of the world on his own. He knew he couldn't save _everyone_ in all of New York at all times. He needed to sleep, to go to school, to eat. Maybe he really needed to consider cutting more time for other things out too, because they too were important and it wasn't as though between police and other heroes, New York stood unprotected.

"Maybe you're right, Tony", sighed Peter with the smallest pout.

"You're a great kid, but you're still young. You think you can save the whole world on your own, but you can't. And if you keep going at it at this rate, you're going to burn out. Pace yourself and you will be able to protect this city longer", offered Tony gently

"I'm not good at the... pacing-stuff", muttered Peter and ducked his head.

"Well", started Tony and cleared his throat, deciding to change the topic. "Have you given it another thought, revealing your identity to the team? Are you really sure you want to?"

"I trust them with my life, I guess it'd only be fair to show them my face", shrugged Peter. "I mean, you know and Ned knows and aunt May knows and Mister Hogan knows and Rhodey and Vision know. And I know Sharon and Hope and Carol's faces and identities too, so... it'd only be fair?"

Tony nodded with the faintest smile. He knew Peter had a point. It was just the past that still haunted Tony. With the old Avengers? He didn't know what Natasha would be able to do with the leverage. Wanda was a danger in on herself but if she knew how to find Peter off-duty? Tony shook his head. He really tried not to think about the old time and where they were now (even though he of course knew exactly where they were now. Every place on Earth had cameras and satellites. Not even Natasha would be able to dodge them all with the red witch and Captain America at her tail. They were too high profile to stay undetected at all times and between the individual sightings, Tony had been able to piece together where they were). But with the new team? Over their shared science-sessions, Tony had grown more than just fond of both Jane and Hope. Sharon already had his trust and Carol got huge plus-points through Rhodey. Still, there was a lingering fear.

"Just be careful, Peter", requested Tony after a beat.

"I'm always careful, Mister Stark", grinned Peter before correcting himself. "Uh. Tony. Tony."

/break\

Peter had not been careful and right now, technically speaking, Peter should probably be dead. Should definitely be dead. There should be a red and blue pancake on the ground right now.

"Well, that was unexpected. How did you do that?", asked Carol curiously, landing next to him. "I know you got some special strength and healing abilities, but... this? _This_?"

"I... I don't know what's happening either", admitted Peter doe-eyed, sticking to the pavement. "I don't even know what just _happened_. I just... landed...? And it made a crater."

"And there was ice", added Carol, startling Spider-Man. "Yeah. Look at the broken pavement."

Peter rolled over a little and looked at the pavement around him. Broken and with frost around it. Frowning, Peter ran his fingers through it. It was real, actual frost.

"And the symbol on your cheek. Your cheek glowed blue when it happened", offered Carol.

"What... What did it look like?", asked Peter, cupping the cheek Carol was pointing at.

"This is going to sound crazy, but... lips", replied Carol with a frown.

"Enough chit-chat, come help!", barked Hope through the coms. "There are still three robots to take out and me and War Machine could really use your backup, if you don't mind."

"Ri—ight, sorry, Wasp", replied Peter and hopped up to go and help.

Doombots were attacking his high school and while the idea of free time due to totally destroyed school sounded kind of nice, it was his responsibility to help. Worry about the chills later.

/break\

Tony was in the middle of designing a new suit for Carol. With her super-strength and all, a similar material as Rogers' suit was what he went with, but she had complaints about the _design_. In the end, she boldly suggested something that was relatively similar to Rogers' in design too, featuring a large star at the center of her chest. She was fully embracing the 'replacement captain' moniker she had gotten from the news. She'd earn their respect, Tony had no doubt of that.

"Boss? There is a... visitor here to see you", informed FRIDAY.

"Who is it?", asked Tony with a frown. "I'm kind of busy, girl."

"A Doctor Stephen Strange", informed FRIDAY. "He says it is of urgent importance."

Heaving a deep sigh, Tony put down his project and made his way out of his lab. He smiled as he passed the rest of the team on his way to the office. Sharon and Carol were sparring in the gym, while Hope and Jane were in the common lab. Vision, Rhodey, Peter and Darcy were in the common room, watching movies. Peter and Darcy loved movie-nights and Rhodey had had an exhausting day with the latest mission, so he just decided to indulge them.

"What are you guys watching?", asked Tony before proceeding.

Peter turned around, grinning at him – all mask-free. " _Ocean's Eleven_. And Rhodey won't believe us that he looks like Basher. I mean, come on, it's uncanny!"

"I just don't see it", grunted Rhodey and shook his head.

"The facial structure is very similar", supplied Vision.

"Rhodey bear is way more handsome", declared Tony amused.

"Hope and Jane promised to join us for _Twelve_ ", said Darcy. "They're not really fans of the stupid love-subplot in this one. Which, I get. Poor fragile woman who needs a man and gets together with a total douchebag but only realizes and leaves him when a strong man comes along to show her so she decides to go back to him, even though the guy had majorly lied to her and was a criminal."

"Perhaps. It appears I have a visitor", chuckled Tony. "Though, _Thirteen_ is the best."

"So, we're now counting on you to join us for _Thirteen_ ", declared Darcy.

Shaking his head amused, Tony continued on his way, with one last glance at Peter. The boy was in his regular clothes, comfortably sitting. Especially for team-bonding exercises like movie-nights and dinner, Peter enjoyed just being _Peter_. And really, it had gone far smoother than anticipated. Peter had lifted his mask, introduced himself and everyone had just given a variation of greetings. No one was really surprised that Peter was a teenager, considering they had all sparred with him and Peter never really used a voice-modulator. He was very clearly a teenager, anyone spending as much time in close proximity to Spider-Man as the Avengers were would notice. And it hadn't really changed anything; they still respected Peter and his ideas just the same.

"Mister Stark."

Tony was startled out of his thoughts by... Honestly, he had no idea how to describe the guy. A red cape of sorts over dark-blue robes. Or something. He looked very odd and out of place.

"Doctor... Strange?", offered Tony, putting on a business-smile and offering his hand.

He noticed the weak grip and the scars on the doctor's hands. Tony also noted that the cape seemed to move on its own. Interesting. This could indeed be very interesting.

"I felt like the Avengers should be informed that Thor and Loki paid me a visit."

Pausing, Tony just stared at the casual way in which Stephen Strange carried himself. "I was aware that Thunderbolt and Lighting was visiting New York a while back, but... what specifically did he want from you? And why was Reindeer Games with him...? And why are you telling me this?"

Strange looked bemused at that before sitting down, motioning for Tony to do the same. Establishing control. Tony just smiled and leaned against his desk, looking down at Strange. Two could play _that_ game. Strange just arched one eyebrow in what seemed to be amusement.

"They were looking for their father. We did not talk much, but it... feels like the kind of thing to mention to the Avengers", shrugged Strange casually.

"It's been months since that happened. So, why are you here _now_?", asked Tony more sharply.

"I am the Sorcerer Supreme, which does not mean anything to you, because you do not concern yourself with magic", replied Strange, moving his hands in ways that made sparks fly around them.

Tony startled, hands gripping the desk-top hard in a moment of panic. But it was different from the way Maximoff's magic looked or worked. He blinked surprised. So _real_ actual magic existed? Maximoff was a mutant with dormant genes, HYDRA had activated her X-gene. This... was different. This wasn't a mutation? Then again, Loki had magic too, didn't he?

"So, you're a wizard, Harry?", guessed Tony, eyebrows raised. "Where's Hogwarts?"

Shaking his head a little, Strange folded his hands over his lap again. "Those are things that should not concern you. They're _my_ responsibility, as the Sorcerer Supreme. I am the... leader of magic around here, so to speak. And I do have to admit that coming here to tell you about the visit of the two brothers was more of an excuse. Yesterday, I detected a spike of magic. I pinpointed the location and time to the exactly place where the Avengers were fighting Doom-bots."

"Magic?", echoed Tony. "Fry? Call Spider-Man, Wasp, Rhodey and Captain Marvel here."

It only took the four moments to come – and Fry had relayed the message properly, because Peter was all geared-up. The four looked curious and confused, rather pointedly staring at Strange.

"Doctor Strange, the Main Magician", introduced Tony briefly. "He says there was _magic_ when you guys fought against the Doom-bots yesterday? There was definitely no mention of any magical encounters in your field reports, guys. That'd have been flagged by Fry."

"There was no magic, Tones", pointed Rhodey out. "Just good, old-fashioned robots."

"Actually...", started Carol, pulling her shoulders up for a moment. "There was _something_."

"What kind of something?", asked Strange and leaned forward.

"A Doom-bot cut Spider-Man's webs and caught him by surprise. He smashed into the ground, but... he was left unharmed. The pavement however broke. With a burst of... frost", explained Carol.

"How... How have you not mentioned this?", asked Tony, mainly staring at Peter.

"It was... nothing. And honestly, I kinda forgot about it afterward?", shrugged Peter sheepishly.

"And was it accompanied by anything?", asked Strange. "By _someone_?"

"Well...", drawled Peter awkwardly. "Cap said there was like a... lip-mark? On my cheek?"

"Show me", prompted Strange and got up, approaching Spider-Man.

Wearily, Tony nodded. Though he stayed close enough to interfere. He had no reason to believe Strange or trust him, but if someone had used magic on Peter, then Tony needed to know. Peter carefully peeled his mask up to reveal his cheek and Strange performed some kind of magic that brought the mark back to sight. Tony grunted surprised. Those were definitely lip-marks.

"Interesting...", hummed Strange. "That is definitely the same magical signature as whatever had transpired. Who kissed you on the cheek, Spider-Boy?"

"Spider- _Man_ ", corrected Peter miffed before pausing. "Well, there... there was this strange girl? She seemed kind of lost. And before she left, she kissed my cheek. I didn't think much of it. I figured she was just a lost tourist or something. But... you... you think she performed _magic_ on me? Did she like curse me or something? A... Am I going to be alright?"

"It seems to be a... protection-spell. I'd say you will be more than alright. The peculiar thing is that the signature is very clearly Asgardian", stated Strange. "Very similar to Loki's."

"Asgardian...", whispered Tony thoughtfully. "So, you think Thor and Loki are back?"

"Perhaps", offered Strange vaguely. "If that is the case, I would like to be informed by you, Mister Stark. As I will inform you if I hear something about them."

"Fair enough", agreed Tony after a beat. "And Spider-Man is going to be alright?"

"From everything I can detect? Yes", assured Strange. "If not... come and pay me a visit."

Tony tried not to react when the red cape placed a business-card for something called the Sanctum Sanctorum on his desk, Sure. Because that was his life. Nodding briefly, he watched Doctor Strange and his magic coat leave. Magic. Tony really wanted a drink, so instead he took a deep breath.

"Rhodey, Carol, Hope, you're dismissed", stated Tony, grabbing Peter by the shoulder. "Oh no."

"Good luck, kiddo", whispered Hope. "We'll be watching _Ocean's Twelve_."

Peter made a whiny sound as the three adults essentially fled. Slowly pulling his mask off, Peter offered Tony the most apologetic puppy-dog eyes. Tony heaved a sigh.

"Peter. You _need_ to tell me about those kind of things. Magical things. Magic is dangerous – you saw what Wanda and Loki are capable of. This could have meant a lot", warned Tony.

"I know. I just... really didn't think too much on it?", offered Peter with a shrug.

Heaving a sigh, Tony rubbed his temples. "I'll be talking to Carol later on too. Such things have to go into the reports. Anything that seems off has to go into the reports. Magic in particular."

"I mean, it's not like Carol and I knew what it was?", argued Peter. "It's not like we have a lot of experience with magic, Tony. Seriously, the only magic I ever encountered was at the airport in Germany and it's not like I got to experience _a lot_ of it..."

"Point taken", sighed Tony, frowning. "...A magic-user would be a good addition to the team."

"You mean that, uh, High Warlock?", asked Peter wide-eyed.

"Don't think he's a team-player", replied Tony and shook his head. "He only came to us when he needed something. I don't think joining the team is on his agenda. Still..."

Shaking his head, Tony ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay, listen, kid. Be careful of the magic. If this... magic kiss activates again, you will definitely tell me about it. We can't be too careful."

"Yeah. You're right", agreed Peter and ducked his head.

"It's okay, kiddo. Let's go and watch the movie with the rest of the team", suggested Tony.

He wrapped his arm around Peter's shoulders to steer him out of the office. Still, there was one thing that stuck with him in particular – even more so than the fact that there was apparently an Asgardian on Earth. Thor had been _with Loki_. Loki. Tony knew, in great detail, how difficult the relationship between those two was, but last Tony had heard from Thor, Loki had been kind of _dead_. That Loki was not just alive, but apparently on some brotherly quest with Thor...? That was truly strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to feature the return of Hela and it'll be Ned's first appearance in the story. It's gonna be rather Peter centered. Which... honestly, the story was supposed to be VERY Tony centric but I find it hard without also giving those close to him the time to shine.


	7. Avengers 3.0 (With Blackjack and Hookers)

_Chapter 7: Avengers 3.0 (With Blackjack and Hookers)  
_

Tony had spent so much time buried in his private lab, all on his own. So many months. Even before the Civil War. It just... hadn't been the same after Ultron. Tony had started avoiding the team, had started getting side-eyed by Steve for what had happened. It had taken quite some therapy to work through _those_ issues. Because despite what the world liked to say – that Ultron had been _Tony Stark's mistake –_ Ultron had been the creation of Tony and Bruce, caused by hallucinations created by Maximoff. At its core, it had been a good idea – but they had rushed into it in a frenzy, caused by the fear and dread Maximoff had planted in Tony's mind. Had he been fully himself, they would have taken it slower, with more testing. It could have been a project worked on for months, maybe years, until perfection. Instead, it had been a rushed job and that was, together with Loki's Scepter, in the end, what had led to its failure. What had led to Ultron. Guilt, self-inflicted and given through side-eyes from his teammates, had led to Tony spending nearly all of his time in his private lab. The fact that Bruce was just _gone_ hadn't helped either.

Things were different now though. His team was different. While he had spent his time locked away at first too, after him and Peter started going to the common lab, somehow... Tony had started enjoying his lab-space with other scientists with bright and brilliant minds. Peter, Jane, Hope, even Rhodey occasionally – he _had_ gone to MIT and while many liked to underestimate Tony's Rhodey-bear, James Rhodes knew his way around a workshop and had brilliant ideas himself too, he just did not find the same joy and enthusiasm in it as Tony. Still, Tony missed Bruce...

"Oh, this is _awesome_!", exclaimed Darcy, hollering with laughter and startling Tony.

Frowning, he put his tools down and wheeled his chair over to where Darcy and Peter were sitting. The two were looking at... pictures of T'Challa and panthers? Tony's frown deepened in confusion.

"What is that?", asked Tony, looking at the two.

"Wakandan memes", replied Peter with a broad grin. "I asked Shuri what kinda inside jokes they have in Wakanda and apparently the biggest is to find photos of the tribe's main animal that resemble their leader. She sent me like twenty of a guy called M'Baku, comparing him with totally adorable baby gorillas? And those are the crown-jewels of T'Challa memes."

Tony snorted and smiled as he looked at a photo-comparison of T'Challa tilting his head and a black panther cub tilting its head. Somehow, Tony was not very surprised by this. But it was adorable.

"You and the princess still in contact, huh?", asked Tony curiously.

"Oh, yes! Shuri is awesome. She texted me about the data she took and then we kinda just... started talking? She's really funny and cool", grinned Peter happily.

"It's... nice you're making more friends your own age", chuckled Tony fondly. "Say, what happened with Ned and that... friend he made that you were kind of jealous of?"

"I'm not _jealous_ of Miles", grumbled Peter a little embarrassed. "But I guess... I mean, we've been hanging out during lunch and all and he seems pretty cool. He's into science too, so we got that in common. We were paired up in a chemistry project last week and I guess he's pretty cool."

"You know, you could bring him and Ned over to the lab some time, if you want to impress them", suggested Tony after a moment. "Only common lab. No secret Avengers stuff."

"Really? Wow. You're awesome, that'd be awesome!", exclaimed Peter with sparkling eyes.

Darcy grinned knowingly as she looked at Tony. She knew he had been worrying about Peter lately. Him spending essentially all of his time at the mansion, hanging out with Tony, Jane and Hope instead of actual children his own age. And while Shuri _was_ awesome – Darcy was in their group-chat too, after all – she lived all the way in Wakanda and even Shuri hadn't invented a teleporter yet. Though she had shown great interest in Tony and Jane's project of building their own version of a Bifrost and was currently using the sad kitten eyes on her brother trying to convince him that she should go to New York for a while and work on that project with them. Since human science was no challenge for the girl, the idea of figuring out alien-technology without a guide was really exciting for her. Even though Darcy hadn't known Shuri for long, she had a feeling the girl might succeed.

/break\

Carol didn't remember the last time she had had a girls' night and felt actually really _girly_. In the air force, she always had to stand her man, in a way. Being tough was a part of the job. Any sign of femininity was easily taken as a weakness. Being a superhero in outer space? Any sign of _human_ was easily taken as a weakness because humans were seen as weak. Joining the Avengers, Carol had suspected would be a macho battle too. After all, looking back at all the testosterone that had been in the original Avengers line-up – the Black Widow, who kept out of the press and yet ended up always only referred to as a sexy femme fatal, the Scarlet Witch, who got the opposite treatment and was infantalized even by her own team, treated like a little child despite being a grown woman, and that was actually literally _it_ , between Captain America, Falcon, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Vision, War Machine, Thor, Hulk, a female hero would have to really fight her way up to not be seen as some 'token girl whose weight the _real_ Avengers had to carry'. Here? Rhodey, Tony and Vision easily worked with Carol, Hope and Sharon. With the additions of Jane and Darcy, one could truly not talk about testosterone ruling the Avengers. And then there was the whole image change.

A girls' night. Five out of the eight current Avengers getting their hair and nails done and drinking frilly cocktails, with Darcy posting about it online. To balance things out a little, because all the posts about hard training were one thing, this – this helped humanize them more. This helped showing girls that it was also okay to want to feel pretty. That a woman could be strong without being forced to trade their femininity for a more masculine behavior. Granted, Carol didn't let anyone take it away from her to beat a bunch of drunk assholes at darts because they were making fun of the 'so-called Avengers in dresses'. Because somehow, yes, to many men it still seemed like an admittance of weakness to show femininity. Which was just ridiculous. Carol could break their necks whether she was wearing her armor or the beautiful blue dress she had bought on her last shopping trip with Sharon. This was good. Feeling... normal again. She had spent so much time in space, she had kind of forgotten what it felt like to just be _human_. To have friends.

"Ca—ar", groaned Sharon, swatting at Carol as soon as she was within the reach. "Make the nerds stop. They're talking science again. I thought they'da been drunk enough _not_ to..."

Carol huffed amused and wrapped one arm around Sharon before sitting down amd reaching out to pull the napkin away from between Jane and Hope, causing both women to whine and look up at her. It was ridiculous how low their alcohol tolerance was. Then again, it was probably more like Carol's was far higher than that of regular humans. Curious. Normally, it was Darcy's job to keep them from working all the time. Carol snorted fondly as she found Darcy asleep, with her cheek against Hope's shoulder, snoring softly. Putting the napkin away into her purse (whatever the two geniuses have worked out might just be important, better hand it to them when they were sober), Carol took out her phone to take a picture of Darcy sleeping. Time for some revenge for all the times Darcy had taken silly pictures of her and posted them on the internet to 'humanize' – which, granted, she knew she needed. She was a new player around and people were weary about her powers. Hope grinned at her from across the table as she did the rabbit-ears for Darcy.

"Now, what have you two nerds been thinking up?", asked Carol curiously.

"An update to Hope's stings that combines them with the shrink-chips that Ant-Man uses. If instead of using the particles as disks, Hope could freely use the shrinking and growing during fights", declared Jane excitedly. "Like... a shrink-ray, would Darcy say."

"That's cool", hummed Sharon, chewing on the slice of orange that came with her drink.

/break\

Bruce smiled fondly as he watched Thor. The big guy was laughing as he carried his niece on his shoulders. The instant Hela had stepped out of her father's shadow when Loki, with a rather serious face, had introduced her, Thor had latched onto her. Loki had scowled, at first, but apparently Hela had admired her uncle from afar until now and she soaked all his praise up, so Loki _accepted_. He also shared, after a while, the story of how she came to be – or rather how she came to be hidden. It was abundantly clear that whoever as much as looked at Hela wrong would receive a knife to the eye. Part of Bruce was surprised to see Loki like that, though it also helped him appreciate Loki in a way. To see him in a different light and perhaps find a certain kind of respect for the trickster. Hela apparently truly looked up to Thor and Sif for their heroics on Asgard, much to Loki's dismay (highly entertaining to watch, the look on Loki's face whenever Hela asked for stories and expressed her delight at them). The kid was really impressive, Bruce had to admit. She was brilliant and her physical appearance – maybe fifteen human years – shouldn't fool anyone. She was the queen of Helheim and she had earned that title. Bruce could see it, far better than anyone else on this ship. She had an unassuming, non-threatening exterior but she was hiding a lot of power beneath that surface, Bruce could feel it with every fiber of his being. She had the same kind of aura as the Hulk, in an abstract way not a literal one. It was frightening to imagine what she might be capable of, if pushed. Though the way it looked, Loki would not allow for her to be pushed.

"You know she is our best shot at reaching Midgard early", pointed Heimdall out.

"So you don't think you can fix the Bifrost?", asked Sif with a frown.

"Not here. Not with the means we have", sighed Heimdall and shook his head.

"Oh yes, the daughter of Loki is sure to receive a warm welcome from the mortals", snarked Loki.

"Well, she doesn't have to advertise her connection to you", pointed Bruce out. "It'd be enough if she just said she is an Asgardian with the magical abilities to travel and with letters from me and Thor, Tony and Steve are about to accept her in. We _have_ to send note first, or else our ship is going to be perceived as a threat and that is the last thing we need. For us to be seen as a hostile threat and a potential fight between Asgardians and humans that is absolutely unnecessary."

"She said she's been to Midgard. Just like that. She can do it again. It won't be a problem for her and considering she apparently already knows where to find the Avengers she might really be our best and safest shot at getting word out", added Sif unusually gentle. "Loki, please. Consider it."

Loki scowled and motioned for his daughter. Hela, Thor and Hilde came over. They had been playing ball. It was odd how Hilde had taken a kind of mentor-role for Hela. And considering that she had cut back the drinking and was working through her issues with Bruce ( _not_ that kind of doctor. But that seemed to be a thing Bruce's friends just did not care for), she might actually make for a good role-model for a young Asgardian like Hela. Hela tilted her head and tucked her hair behind her left ear. On the right side, she let the black hair cascade down and cover her face, wearing a glove that covered her whole arm and a dress that covered what other skin would show otherwise. There was something she was hiding, or rather something she was _used_ to hiding – Loki had given her an enchanted amulet that supposedly fixed the issue, or so Bruce had pieced together.

"We need you to go to Midgard, Hela", sighed Loki displeased. "You will have to... go and find the Avengers and give them letters from Thor and Banner to announce our arrival."

"Oh, that means I get to talk to Peter again. That sounds nice", hummed Hela. "He can show me Midgard while the adults prepare their answer. Yes, I'd like that."

"Wonderful! A true hero, on her first quest", laughed Thor delighted, patting her on the back.

Hela beamed at that and puffed her chest out. It was truly hilarious to see Loki's daughter admire Thor, of all people. With an amused smile at that irony, Bruce got out paper and a pen. Time to write what might just be the hardest letter Bruce Banner had ever written in his life.

/break\

"This is _awesome_ ", whispered Ned, eyed large and mouth open. "This is amazing. This is-"

"This is the Avengers Mansion!", exclaimed Miles and jumped high, thrusting his fist in the air. "This is legit the best day of my life! This is so cool! Can we see where they train?"

Peter grinned broadly at that as he led the two boys further into the mansion. Tony had offered it and honestly, Ned totally deserved it. After all, he was Peter's support and his best friend. Though they weren't here as Spider-Man and his sidekick, they were here as Peter Parker, intern to Stark Industries, who got two passes to show his friends where he worked. And Miles Morales was really cool and Peter enjoyed working with the guy. They had ideas – great ideas and _grand_ ideas – and doing it in the school lab after class would just not cut it. When Peter had told Ned and Miles that Tony Stark had offered their labs for the chemistry project, both boys' eyes nearly popped out.

"Do you think we'll see any Avengers?", whispered Miles with large eyes, looking at Ned. "Oh my god, what if we meet _Colonel Rhodes_?"

"I hear my name? What kind of security breach are you three supposed to be? The worst burglars in history?", asked Rhodey curiously as him, Carol and Tony rounded the corner.

Miles just gaped, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, while Ned squealed like a fanboy. Peter grinned sheepishly and ducked his head slightly embarrassed on their account.

"No, Rhodey. Those are my friends. Ned and Miles. We... We're using the lab for a school project and it's going to be awesome", explained Peter. "Mist—Tony gave us clearance."

"School project, eh? Fanciest model volcano of all times?", chuckled Carol, eyebrows raised.

"I... I... C... Colonel Rhodes, sir, can...", stammered Miles nervously and stepped up.

"Yeah, kid?", asked Rhodey and paused.

"I just... You're my idol", admitted Miles a bit embarrassed. "It's just... When I was in kindergarten, every superhero was... white. And when, when I first saw you, War Machine – well, Iron Patriot back then – I was... You're my role-model, sir. And seeing you fight as an _actual_ Avenger made me feel so proud and like... maybe... one day I could be an Avenger too, perhaps. Maybe."

Rhodey stared in surprise for a long moment. He wasn't so used to kids admitting their admiration to him. And the raw emotion in the kid's eyes nearly made Rhodey tear up. It had all been about Captain America when Rhodey had grown up, he remembered. Then Iron Man joined the scene and Thor appeared for the first time and... And somehow, Rhodey had never really _fully_ made the connection what a game-changer he must have been for young black kids watching the news. Something he himself had never gotten to experience. A black hero, saving lives, as a role-model.

"I...", started Rhodey and cleared his throat. "I'm sure you can become anything you want to be, kid. Miles was it, right? If you work hard and train hard, I'll keep you a spot open, yeah?"

Miles' eyes lit up, making Rhodey smile. Now he got it. What Carol had told him about just last week, when a bunch of little blonde girls in Captain Marvel dresses had circled her and squealed at her about being a role-model. That feeling was absolutely amazing and maybe Rhodey should stop letting Tony do all the press releases and grand appearances, maybe War Machine should step up some and be more present on TV and in the news. Darcy sure would love the chance to promote him more. That girl was _scary_ when it came to her dedication to her job.

"Thank you, sir!", exclaimed Miles, absolute determination in his voice. "I _will_."

/break\

Peter, Ned and Miles had been working in the lab for two hours when FRIDAY interrupted them. "Mister Morales, boss sent this box down for you. And Peter, there is a visitor waiting for you."

"Box?", echoed Miles confused, looking up.

There was a dumbwaiter in the lab, mainly for food or for quick delivery of things in and out of the lab – equipment and such. When the three boys went to open it, Miles pulled out a box. He made the most unholy sound as he unpacked what was essentially a War Machine Fanboy Box. An action figure, a mug, a button and a shirt that read _WarMachineRox_. With it, a note – _From one War Machine fanboy to another. Welcome to the club – TS_.

"Did... Did Tony Stark just... give you a box with War Machine merchandise?", asked Ned stunned.

"This is _definitely_ the best day of my life", declared Miles excitedly. "Look! A War Machine tsum-tsum! Those things are so weird but totally cute."

"...So much envy", whispered Ned lowly.

"Wait. I have a visitor? Me?", asked Peter after a moment when Fry's words caught up with him.

"Yes. A young lady who refuses to speak to anyone but you. Boss asks you to join them in the yard. He also asks Mister Leeds and Mister Morales to stay back, for the time being."

"Dude. What if it's dangerous? You can't just go", grunted Miles concerned.

"No. Uh. Peter will be fine, I'm sure", interrupted Ned. "I mean, uh, he has all the Avengers there, right? He'll be fine. And if Mister Stark thinks we're safest here, we should stay."

Miles looked doubtful but Peter still managed to sneak out. He wondered what this was all about, but he definitely couldn't risk blowing his cover in front of Miles; he didn't know the guy long enough to trust him with his secret yet. Though once Peter was outside, he came to a sudden halt. The girl. The lost girl from a few weeks ago. She was just standing there, tilting her head as she looked at Sharon, Hope and Carol. The three women stood around her in a circle. Not entirely threatening – no weapons out – but definitely watching her closely. She might appear a child, but appearance meant little and they all knew that. Rhodey, Vision and Tony formed the second line of defense and Peter tilted his head curiously as he approached with a kind smile.

"Hey. You're the girl who was lost the other day, right?", asked Peter kindly. "You were looking for your dad, weren't you? Did... Did you find him?"

"Oh, yes. I did", replied the girl with a bright smile, just stepping past Carol and then Rhodey to stand next to Peter. "And my uncle. He gave me this and said I should give it to the Avengers. Father says you know the Avengers and can give it to them."

"Your, uh... uncle... gave you a letter for the Avengers?", asked Peter confused, accepting it.

"Who's your uncle, kid?", asked Hope skeptically.

"Thor Odinson", replied the girl very proudly. "Uncle Thor says he was part of the Avengers while he lived here and he tells me all about the glorious tale of the mighty warriors of Midgard. It is very impressive, indeed. Now he asked me to bring a letter to their leaders, because the Bifrost is still broken and they haven't been able to repair it yet, while I can travel between realms."

"When you say 'travel between realms', what does that mean, exactly?", asked Tony.

"Thor? Thor sent you? How... Where is he...?", asked Jane slowly as she and Darcy joined them.

They had waited inside, watching the footage. But the mention of Thor got their attention.

"When you say 'uncle Thor', who exactly are your parents?", wanted Sharon to know suspiciously.

"Bruce said I shouldn't say", frowned the girl. "But if father is coming here, I do think it would be better you were prepared for him too. I am Hela Lokisdottir."

"Bru-", started Tony and wavered when Peter handed him the letters. "Bruce. And Thor. Wait. Bruce was on Asgard? This... This entire time?"

"Best you read the letters", assured Hela amused. "Now, I promised father and uncle Thor I would return with word from the Avengers, so if you would read the letters and formulate your reply so I can take it home with me. Until then, I'd like for Peter to show me Midgard, please. I am very eager to see more of this world that uncle Thor praises so highly."

Peter just stared stunned at the girl, while the adults exchanged meaningful glances. Bruce Banner had been gone for a while now and no one knew where exactly he had disappeared to. And Thor!

"Uhm... How do I explain this to Ned and Miles...?", muttered Peter worried.

"You should tell them the truth, whoever they are. Lying is never good", advised Hela.

"Okay, sure. An alien came seeking me as a personal tour-guide", nodded Peter curiously.

"Yes. Good", nodded Hela pleased. "Now please show me this Big Apple. I am hungry."

"...No, that's not... That's not what that means", mumbled Peter, raising both eyebrows.

"Oh", hummed Hela and deflated. "I was looking forward to a big apple. We only have golden ones on Asgard. Or, well... had... before Asgard was destroyed, I suppose."

"Did she just say Asgard was _destroyed_?!", asked Darcy in a freaked-out voice in the background.

Peter smiled and decided to lead Hela out of the room. Maybe it really was better if Tony first got to read the letters from Bruce and Thor to see what exactly was going on. Because so far, it seemed like quite the mess. Peter himself had _so many_ questions for Hela – starting with what the mark meant that she had left on him and why she had done it – but patience was a thing he was trying to learn about. He just had to take care of Hela for now, because she was literally alien to this whole world. He would figure something out, make her feel welcomed until Tony had a solution.

"Your pocket is singing", pointed Hela out curiously.

Blinking surprised, Peter looked down and took out his phone. "Hel-"

"Guess who's coming back to New York, web-head?"

Peter paused, startling Hela a little. "Shuri? Wait. Seriously? But... When? How? Where?"

"Aye, I convinced my mother and my brother that Wakanda needs an embassy in New York and that I would be the perfect fit to supervise it", declared Shuri with pride. "And I figured I'd get to spend more time with you, Tony, Jane and Hope. More science together. You and I, web-head, we could achieve great things, you know?"

"Like... what?", asked Peter confused as he and Hela walked toward the common lab.

"The Avengers. Not what my brother and Tony are working on now. Not the 2.0 version. 2.0 is always an improvement, but it's _never_ the endgame, web-head", declared Shuri. "You and I, we could make our own Avengers, with blackjack and hookers."

Peter sputtered at the outdated meme-reference. He really liked Shuri and half the fun were outdated memes, if he was being honest. It was kind of more fun than dealing with the current flow.

"Avengers 3.0, with blackjack and hookers", echoed Peter softly, a lopsided grin on his face. "Wait. And who would be on that team? Aside from me and you?"

"I don't know. We don't have to worry about that yet. But with my genius and your genius and your powers, we're a damn good base. Anyway, I'll arrive in two days' time. See you then, web-head."

"Who were you talking to? Why does the little box make music _and_ talk? Is it magic? Father said humans aren't good with magic?", asked Hela eagerly, startling Peter.

He put his phone away and opened his mouth to answer her, but by then they had already reached the common lab and apparently Ned and Miles had a lot of questions. Honestly, being an Avenger was _hard_. Shuri had no idea what she was suggesting there. Their own Avengers. Sure, Peter had to admit that he had thought about that too – not in those exact terms and not with Shuri in the picture yet – but when Vision had been gone to track his ex-girlfriend, when both Rhodey and Tony were still in the hospital. When there was not a single Avenger for two whole weeks. Peter thought about it. That one day, _the_ Avengers would no longer be and there would be a hole left behind to be filled and that Peter needed to be involved, somehow, though he had no idea _how_. Shuri however, she was far more brilliant than him, had more experience with heroes (albeit second-hand; through her father). Somehow, knowing Shuri had the same goal made him feel reassured, even though he had no idea what that team might look like. For now, he had to somehow explain the Asgardian in the room to his two human friends without spilling the beans to Miles. Piece of cake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to make Miles a War Machine fanboy. But if you look at what an impact Black Panther had, and that was just a movie, I had to wonder just how much the actual living breathing real first black superhero must have had in the world of the MCU. The first black superhero and the first black Avenger.
> 
> Now, next chapter more of Miles, Ned, Peter and Hela - oh that's gonna be fun to explain, poor Spiderling. And also back to Tony, who has a very important letter to read and a decision to make.
> 
> Also, as you may or may not have noticed, I updated the character list, for one because of Ned and Miles and for another because I do plan on, later on like chaaapters down the road, involving the Ex-Vengers to some capacity.


	8. Come Hela or High Water

Avengers || FrostIron || How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful || FrostIron || Avengers

Title: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – New and Improved Avengers

Fandom: Marvel | Avengers

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Marvel Comics for the creation of some of the most awesome heroes ever. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: m/m, not Infinity War compliant, team as family, team building, fluff, PTSD, hurt/comfort, past child abuse, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, m/f, f/f

Main Pairing: Loki/Tony

Side Pairings: Valkyrie/Sif, Bruce/Jane, Rhodey/Carol, Happy/Pepper, T'Challa/Ororo

New Avengers: Tony Stark | Iron Man, James 'Rhodey' Rhodes | War Machine, Carol Danvers | Captain Marvel, Hope van Dyne | Wasp, Vision, Sif, Brunnhilde | Valkyrie, Loki, Thor, Bruce Banner | Hulk, Sharon Carter | Agent 13, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis

Junior Avengers: Peter Parker | Spider-Man, Shuri, Hela Lokisdottir, Miles Morales | Kid Arachnid, Edward 'Ned' Leeds

Allies: Stephen Strange | Doctor Strange, T'Challa | Black Panther, Ororo Munroe | Storm, Okoye, Heimdall, Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, Happy Hogan, James 'Bucky' Barnes

Ex-Vengers: Steven 'Steve' Rogers | Captain America, Natasha Romanova | Black Widow, Clinton 'Clint' Barton | Hawkeye, Samuel 'Sam' Wilson | Falcon, Scott Lang | Ant-Man, Wanda Maximoff | Scarlet Witch

Summary: Post _Civil War_ , Tony has to build a new team of Avengers. Aside from new recruits, there are also two well-known Avengers that return to Earth – with a ship full of refugees. New and more functional Avengers rise from the ashes of the old and new alliances, new friendships and even new relationships are formed. Though the biggest wild-card proves to be Loki, not entirely unexpected.

**How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful**

_New and Improved Avengers_

_Chapter 8: Come Hela or High Water_

Peter Parker might be a bit in over his head. He had pulled Ned aside, just outside the lab, with Miles waiting inside the lab in confusion and Hela stood a little aside from Ned and Peter.

"Dude. I have like ten different problems", muttered Peter distressed. "You have to help me."

"How? And who is she? Oh. Oh, don't tell me she's your _girlfriend_!", exclaimed Ned wide-eyed.

"What? No. That's Hela. As in, Hela Loki's daughter. As in, an Asgardian witch", hissed Peter. "She came here with news from Thor and now I'm supposed to watch her until the Avengers have figured out what to do next, but obviously Miles – well, everyone really – can't know that she's Asgardian and especially not that she's Loki's daughter."

"Loki's daughter came from Asgard", whispered Ned wide-eyed staring at her. "Wow. That's..."

"Hello", greeted Hela with a smile and a wave. "I am Hela, daughter of Loki."

"Hello. I am Ned, uh, son of Betty", offered Ned awkwardly, shaking hands with Hela.

"Listen, Hela, we... we super can _not_ tell others who your dad is", requested Peter. "He, uh... well he doesn't have the best track-record here and if you want me to show you New York, we..."

"Need to lie", nodded Hela. "It's okay. I'm used to lying. Grandfather liked to pretend me and my siblings don't exist too. I can play someone else."

"That'd be helpful", sighed Peter and took a deep breath.

"So what's the other nine problems?", asked Ned lowly as they headed to the lab.

"Well, Shuri's gonna come back to New York in two days already and I'm not even half-way done with the surprise. Also apparently Bruce Banner and Thor are like on Asgard. Or were on Asgard. And Asgard _was destroyed_. And I _think_ they might be heading back here", rambled Peter.

"Hey, so what did the Avengers want?", asked Miles curiously when they entered the room again.

"They, uh, wanted to know if we have some time, because this is...", started Peter and paused. "This is Hel—ga. Helga van Dyne, she's Hope's second-cousin twice removed and she's visiting but the Avengers had a call and Hope doesn't want to leave her all alone in New York so she had hoped that maybe we could, since we're the same age, show her around."

Sometimes, it was an absolute miracle to Peter that he managed to keep his secret identity at all. Seriously, he was so bad at lying. Taking a deep breath, he ran his hands over his face. Miles grinned broadly as he got up and offered 'Helga van Dyne' his hand to shake.

"Cool. I'm Miles, it's great to meet you", offered Miles cheerfully.

"Hello, Miles", replied Hela and shook Miles' hand. "Can you show me New York? I have heard so much about it and about the great Avengers of this realm!"

"Realm?", echoed Miles confused, looking at Peter.

"Country. She means country. She's from... uh... Norway. Language barrier", grinned Peter sheepishly. "And I think you mentioned something about being hungry, right? How about we show you around town and then go and get something to eat?"

"That sounds wonderful", nodded Hela pleased.

/break\

Tony sat in a nearly dark room. There was only a small desk-lamp on that illuminated the paper in front of Tony. Not that he had as much as unfolded the paper.

"You gonna brood in the darkness much longer or are we gonna open the letter?", asked Darcy.

Tony startled a little and looked up. Darcy sat on the arm-chair opposite him, flanked by Jane and Hope on either side. Carol stood leaning against a wall with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised, Sharon next to her. Vision and Rhodey were standing the closest to Tony.

"You spaced out there, Tones", whispered Rhodey gently.

"Right. Sorry. I just...", drawled Tony, unsure how to finish the sentence.

"Miss Bruce, because the two of you were friends and he disappeared over a year ago and now you might actually learn what happened to him and you're nervous", summarized Darcy. "Yeah, we get that. Now can we please open those letters because I wanna know where Thor was. I got some major ass-kicking to do about the way he left my girl Janie."

Tony's hand was shaking as he opened the letter. His hand had been acting up ever since the Civil War. Balling a fist, he took a deep breath. Rhodey reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay, Tones?", asked Rhodey gently. "Want me to read it?"

"It's addressed to me... and Rogers", replied Tony and shook his head.

He took another deep breath as he fully unfolded the letter. He smiled despite himself as he saw Bruce's scribble. He had missed Bruce's writing, how ridiculous. But oh, all the notes on their shared projects, seeing this very handwriting on their blackboards. It was stupid what little things a person could miss about someone they cared for. Slowly, the letters came into focus.

"Hello, Tony, Steve. This is a hard letter to write. I know you – you all – must be mad that I disappeared. Things were-... It was not a good place. What happened with Maximoff and Natasha...", started Tony to read, squinting at the multiple smudges on the paper, wherever Bruce must have been unsure how to continue a sentence or line of thought.

"The Hulk took over the wheel and he took us off-planet. The details don't matter now, but I only recently came back into control of my body. I ran into Thor and Loki and what happened was-... There is no good way to say this but Asgard has been destroyed."

Tony paused and looked up, seeing the concerned shock on Jane's face. "To make it brief, it turns out King Odin had another child, a firstborn daughter named Aldrif whom he had hidden from society. And as mistreated children of Odin tend to do, she came back with a vengeance to take over the planet." Tony chuckled softly at that, shaking his head.

"But it wasn't enough for her. Asgard was destroyed and while Thor and I could save a large number of Asgardians with a spaceship, they are currently homeless. With the Bifrost destroyed, there is no quick traveling to Earth so we are going the long way around. But we're heading for Earth. There are bigger news we need to discuss, but we should do that in person. For now it's important that you prepare the world for three-hundred Asgardian refugees, so the ship will not be seen as a threat and attacked by the Avengers."

"Okay, so we got incoming refugees from a destroyed Asgard", muttered Carol with a frown. "I think I'll head off-world to fact-check that and see what actually happened."

"That sounds like a very good plan", agreed Tony with a slow nod.

"Tony, are we going to formulate a strategy to... ease the council into this?", asked Sharon. "Or do you want me to get started on that alone for now?"

"You get a head-start on that, I'm contacting all the lawyers I know and trust so we'll be on the safe legal side... as far as we have a legal side to alien immigrants", muttered Tony with a frown.

"What do we do about... Hela?", asked Hope.

"We write her a letter to take back to her uncle", replied Carol with a shrug.

"Oh I have a lot to say to her uncle", muttered Jane beneath her breath.

"-Keep it brief and focused on Bruce's letter", tagged Carol on, looking at Jane.

Jane huffed and straightened up. "Where would we even _house_ three-hundred Asgardians?"

"I might have an idea there", hummed Tony thoughtfully. "But I have to make a call first."

"Wanna share with the group?", asked Carol curiously.

"Buy back Stark Tower. Turn it into emergency housing. It's large enough to house three-hundred people comfortably and considering that Richards hasn't moved in yet", elaborated Tony. "I just absolutely hate talking to Richards..."

"Or I can talk to them. Less gloating if it doesn't directly come from Tony Stark and I have worked with Reed and Susan before", offered Hope, earning herself a nod from Tony.

"You do know that you shouldn't carry all of that on your own though, right?", Darcy slowly.

"That's why Sharon's gonna get a head-start on how to tell the council. Darcy, you could actually help with that too", noted Tony as he got up. "Remind the public of all the great things both Bruce and Thor have done for this world, so by the time the two return, there will be public pressure to not treat them like shit."

"Ca—an do that, boss-man", replied Darcy with a grin.

""Okay, so we divided the work...", started Tony and looked around slowly. "Hope will talk to Richards, Carol goes off-world for a little space-investigation, Sharon-"

"-and Rhodey", tagged Rhodey on. "Are going to take care of talking to the government."

"And I'll check in with the lawyers", ended Tony, looking over to Vision. "Can you go to Doctor Strange? He asked to be updated on any alien-activities. Tell him, but try to get information from him in return. The way he made it sound, about the last time Loki and Thor were on Earth, I think he knows what might have happened to Asgard, at least to some degree."

"Of course", confirmed Vision with a small nod.

Tony blinked slowly. He could breath. He could actually breath normally. He had a team involved in Avengers-work beyond just battling villains. A shared work-load. This still felt curious to him. He watched the rest of the team leave the room, until only Jane remained.

"Tony?", asked Jane softly. "You okay?"

"I can't believe Bruce was off-world", muttered Tony and shook his head. "I can't believe he's returning. Oh. You, you've never actually met him, have you? You're going to love him! The science the five of us could do! With Peter and Hope!"

"That's not what I meant, Tony", countered Jane. "The letter was addressed to you _and Steve_. Bruce has no idea the Avengers he was a part of don't exist anymore. You... avoid talking about them. So, are you fine...? Will you be fine, explaining this all to Thor and Doctor Banner?"

"I think that ranks... rather low on our list of priorities, doesn't it?", muttered Tony, though really he meant 'Yes I am freaking out about that and about Ross' reaction to Thor and Bruce returning and I'd very much like to just hide under a blanket until this is over'. "What about you? Thor?"

There was a pause in which Jane stared down at the letter thoughtfully. "It's been... two years since Thor and I broke up, Tony. What we have had, it was... good and exciting and exhilarating while it lasted, but it wasn't meant to last. We have different goals in life, we had different lives. Me, here on Earth, doing my research, and him... saving the world, any world." Jane heaved a sigh, with the smallest smile. "I did miss him and I am looking forward to seeing him again, but... not like that. I'm over him. I just... worry about him now. His entire planet was destroyed. His _planet_."

She sighed and leaned against the desk. Tony made a confirming sound as he leaned back in his chair. This really was a lot to digest and he did wonder just how Thor and Bruce were fairing and what _exactly_ had happened. Still, there were many steps to take before they arrived and Tony dreaded them all, really. What did the world have to say about their return...?

/break\

"This is _delicious_!", exclaimed Hela excitedly as she stuffed her face with shawarma.

Peter was _exhausted_ as he half-slumped in his chair, too tired to even pick up the food. Which was okay, because Hela kept stealing from his plate. Miles and Ned looked about as exhausted as Peter felt but at least they had the energy to eat. Honestly, Peter couldn't remember the last time he had felt this exhausted. Since the spider-bite, he had had so much stamina. Apparently, being a dimensions-traveling Asgardian witch gave one more stamina than a radioactive spider-bite.

"So, how you liking New York so far, Helga?", asked Miles amused.

"It's amazing!", exclaimed Hela and gestured wildly with her food. "It's everything I heard of in the stories, but somehow so much... more. There are so many different people here? And... things. Sights. I really like your large blue lady, she is very pretty!"

Miles looked at Peter quizzically. Yeah, the whole 'distant relative from Norway' thing came apart at some instances. Like Hela being in awe at cars and never having heard of the Statue of Liberty.

"How long are you gonna stay?", asked Miles curiously.

"I suppose only a day or two", sighed Hela before she paused. "Well, for now. My family is actually moving here very soon and I was... sent ahead to check everything out, I guess."

"That's awesome", grinned Miles. "Oh, it'd be cool if you'd join our school. Pretty sure American high school is going to be a cultural shock for you too."

"American high school", echoed Hela and turned to look at Peter.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure Tony can pull some strings to enroll you at our school", nodded Peter with a reassuring smile. "It's a wild ride, but it's fun when you're with friends."

"Friends", echoed Hela with the same wondrous tone of voice.

Like it was an entirely new concept that Hela had no grasp on. Peter frowned at that.

/break\

"I'm going to drive Miles and Ned home. You two, Tony's waiting for you."

"Okay, Happy. Thanks, Happy", grinned Peter.

Happy grunted, making Hela tilt her head confused. "He does not look happy, Peter."

That made the driver blink a couple of times and look at Hela like she grew a second head. Peter sputtered in laughter as he said his goodbyes to Ned and Miles before they followed Happy out.

"Happy's his name, that... wasn't a description", assured Peter amused as he led Hela along.

"Ah", nodded Hela and followed Peter for a while before she reached out to grasp him by his upper arm. "Peter, do... do you think they will be... fine letting my father return here...?"

"I...", started Peter surprised, raising both his eyebrows.

"I'm not stupid, Peter", sighed Hela and worried her lips. "I know my father did... many things wrong. I know he isn't... welcomed here. Uncle Thor is a hero on this world, but... but mainly for fighting and defeating my father."

Peter paused awkwardly and ruffled his own hair. "Ye—eah. But... honestly? If your father's changed, if he actually... doesn't try to take over the world anymore... There was a literal 'reformed terrorist' on the Avengers until half a year ago so if Wanda Maximoff doesn't just get off the hook without punishment _and_ even gets offered a spot as Earth's Defenders... I have a feeling that we, this team, can totally sell the world on a reformed Loki."

Hela tilted her head at that and smiled softly. "Thank you, Peter. That makes me feel better."

"That's good", grinned Peter and straightened up some. "Say, uhm, there's something I wanted to... talk to you about. The thing you did the last time we met. The mark you left on me?"

"What about it?", asked Hela curiously.

"Why did you leave it there? What exactly is it?", asked Peter.

"It's a protection spell", replied Hela. "I'm not as strong a sorceress as my father is, but I do know some basic spells. This one in particular works well for me because death is my realm."

"Okay, what does it do _exactly_?", wanted Peter to know next.

"It protects you from dying from unnatural causes", explained Hela. "You humans are really, really, _really_ fragile and I like you. I don't want you to just... break."

"Uh... thanks? I guess?", offered Peter, blinking slowly. "...Why?"

"You were nice to me", answered Hela with honest eyes. "Not... many people were ever nice to me. Not just like that. To gain a favor from the queen of Helheim, or because they are afraid of my father. But you were just... genuinely kind. I can see it in your heart, Peter. You are just genuinely kind. That's... rare. You are rare and any world should have more like you."

"...Thanks", whispered Peter, left absolutely stunned.

"Peter! Hela! How nice of you to join us!", exclaimed Tony with a flourish as Hela and Peter entered the conference room where they had been summoned to. "How was your little trip?"

"Very nice", replied Hela, smiling at him. "The boys showed me your city and it is indeed impressive. Uncle Thor is right, humans really are marvelous. And you make great food!"

"So... what's the verdict, Tony?", asked Peter slowly, looking at his mentor.

"Thor and Bruce are dropping by with their three hundred closest friends and are asking for a place to crash", supplied Tony casually. "So, we wrote your uncle and Brucie a couple letters. You... return to them and deliver them and maybe drop by again when you're, say, a day or two from Earth? How does that sound to you, Hell's Angel?"

Hela giggled at the nickname and nodded slowly. "I will do that. Thank you."

Tony hummed as he handed off the letters he and Jane had formulated. Still, he startled when the girl seemingly dissolved into shadows. Turning some, Tony looked at Peter, but the boy looked as startled as he felt. Peter also looked... happy. Like he had had a good time.

"How was your day, Petey?", asked Tony casually, offering him cookies from a drawer.

"Uhm... good?", shrugged Peter and accepted the cookie. "Ned, Miles and I made great progress on our project. Oh! Miles was super happy about the fanboy package you got for him! Like, he had such large eyes as he held the War Machine action figure in his hands? Heh."

Tony smiled pleased as he got more comfortable. He couldn't help but worry about Peter. Ever since the so-called Civil War, Peter had spent so much time trying to be an Avenger, a hero, _an adult_. But at his core, this super-powered, kind-hearted kid was still just a kid. Lately, he had been spending all his time with Tony, Hope, Jane and Darcy and while Tony liked to nurture Peter's mind and help him develop as a scientist, he also couldn't help but feel like Peter needed to experience a normal childhood too. Maybe it was his own lack of one – he had been pushed into the spotlight at a far too young age. And while becoming Spider-Man was Peter's own choice – a choice no one could take from him – Tony still felt like Peter was missing out on something. Seeing him now only proved him right, really. Ned and Miles seemed like good kids too, from what Tony could gather.

"Ned seemed a little jealous though", mused Peter thoughtfully. "But then I introduced Hela and that totally distracted him. And Miles. It was... nice, looking at our city from that perspective, like tourists? I never really looked at New York that way. For me, it was always home, but showing it to someone with no grasp of humans, much less America or New York..."

Tony hummed thoughtfully. "And what do you think of Hela? Loki's off-spring?"

"You wanna know if she's a villain?", asked Peter and stole another cookie. "No. I don't think so. She's clever. I thought she was a little... child-like when I first met her, but I think she uses that innocent-act to appear more non-threatening?"

"What you're saying is that she's dangerous", concluded Tony, squinting.

"So am I", shrugged Peter with a frown. "So is Carol. And Sharon. And Vision-"

"I get your point", huffed Tony amused. "Continue."

"I think she has power, like _a lot_ of power, but she's not a... warrior", continued Peter and gestured mildly. "And she's aware that what her father has done isn't... good. What... What do you think will happen with Loki when he returns? I told her he'd be fine, but..."

"Fine seems like a bit of a stretch", muttered Tony and shook his head. "But from the draft Rhodey and Sharon came up with, we're making a pretty solid case. Murdock seems to think so at least. The way super-powered beings who just decided to switch sides have been handled in the past are a huge argument and from what I gathered from Thor's letter to Jane, apparently Loki had been mind-controlled by someone called Thanos. Murdock thinks that if we can prove mind-control, we do have a very solid case – between what the Hulk did, what Barnes has done while he had been brainwashed, even Barton. We tend to wave it off when brainwashing or mind-control are involved. I'm not quite sure how solid Loki's case is, considering he is still Loki so we can't tell how far he had actually been controlled. But those are details we will have to iron out once the Asgardians arrive and we actually get to talk to the trickster."

"You sound like you actually want to defend Loki", observed Peter, maybe a little surprised.

"I think that we have to get to the bottom of this", clarified Tony. "Whatever the truth. If Loki did try to take over the world on his own account and deserves to be punished, or if he has indeed been mind-controlled. Either way, I want to know _the truth_. Big fan of that."

Peter hummed softly in understanding and nodded. That was true. Whatever someone was accused of, there should always be a fair trial. If Loki too had only been mind-controlled, a case could be made for him and considering how that had been handled in the past...

/break\

Bruce smiled amused to himself as he read over Tony's letter. He was a bit surprised by the lack of input from Steve, but the positive note from Tony was reassuring. He had summarized briefly what he and the Avengers were going to do in preparations. Knowing that they were not going in blind was very, _very_ good to ease the tenseness from Bruce.

"Earth, huh", grunted Valkyrie with a frown, staring at the letter from over Bruce's shoulder.

Bruce grunted in confirmation, though it was not even necessary. Earth hadn't been the question for a while now. It was still a bit odd for Bruce to think about how close he had grown to Hilde.

"Seems they might be able to provide us with housing for everyone", tagged Bruce on.

"So we will not have to stay on the ship?", asked Sif, heaving a sigh of relief.

They were all slowly growing stir-crazy living together like this. Bruce turned to look over to where Thor stood aside, talking animatedly to Hela, who had a lot to say about New York.

"Jane is an Avenger now", called Bruce out, gaining Thor's full attention.

"She is... what?", asked Thor surprised and walked over to join them.

Even Loki looked up curiously from where he had been polishing his helmet (because of course was that a thing Loki did). "She is a... formidable warrior. It's not a surprise."

Bruce raised his eyebrows surprised at that. "Well, that's not why she joined. Apparently, she's there for her scientific knowledge. The Avengers are now doing more research, it seems."

"That is...", started Thor and straightened up. "That is _fantastic_ news! Jane is truly brilliant and Tony can be glad to have her join him in his lab!"

That made Bruce smile amused and nod in agreement. From everything he had heard and read about Jane Foster, she truly was an absolutely brilliant woman. He had to admit, he was curious to see those new research facilities and see what Tony and Jane were coming up with... Soon.

/break\

When Ned woke up in the morning and meant to run out to pick up Miles on his way to school, he nearly stumbled over the package standing in front of his bedroom. There was a note on it.

"I heard you finished your Death Star. Have fun with this – TS", read Ned.

He squealed when he opened the box and found the Lego set of the Avengers Tower, including Lego Avengers figures. This was definitely the coolest thing ever! He bit his lips as he reluctantly put it down – he really had to go to school but oh he was looking forward to building this with Peter later. Damn, Mister Stark really was the absolute coolest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love writing the dynamic between Peter and Tony? Like, a lot?? Now, next chapter we are going to finish up the preparations and welcome our favorite princess back to New York - let's see if Shuri likes whatever surprise Peter has in store for her? ;) And then... Well, you'll have to read it to see THAT. *smirks*


	9. A Legal Alien (or three... hundred) in New York

_Chapter 9: A Legal Alien (or three... hundred) in New York_

"Hey, nerds, have you missed me?"

Tony raised a fond eyebrow as Shuri sauntered into the mansion like she owned the place, a bag thrown over her shoulder and a large grin on her lips. T'Challa had called ahead, well, belatedly after Shuri had already informed Peter and Peter had gone to tell Tony.

"Princess. Welcome to New York", greeted Tony with a smile.

"Thanks. Where's my room?", asked Shuri with a cocky grin of her own.

"R... Room?", echoed Peter doe-eyed, looking from Shuri to Tony.

"Your brother told me that you refuse to stay in a hotel and that 'only the Avengers would be able to provide sufficient protection for the princess of Wakanda', so I had someone prepare a room for you", snorted Tony amused and shook his head.

Honestly, this girl knew how to get what she wanted. She had befriended Peter and decided to keep him. Taking him to Wakanda wasn't possible, so she just brought herself to New York, convincing her mother and brother by claiming the position of official ambassador – but since the embassy for Wakanda had to first be built, the princess needed a place to stay for now. She really was a genius and they could be glad that she was on their side.

"To—ony", chimed Shuri with an innocent smile. "You _have_ to do me a favor."

"Beside letting you stay here and borrow my Spiderling and my labs?", asked Tony.

"Yes, yes, beyond those", agreed Shuri, making Peter sputter. "You _have_ to introduce me to the woman. Okoye told me my brother... froze, the last time we were here. A friend of yours. A woman with white hair? A doctor of sorts? But Okoye did not catch her name."

"Ororo Munroe", hummed Tony, mischief in his eyes. "I saw his reaction to her."

"Was it as bad as Okoye said?", asked Shuri, visibly perking up.

"More helpless than I would have expected from a king and superhero", confirmed Tony.

Shuri cackled, in a very villain-like manner. Well, as long as all her villainous energy only went into tormenting her brother, Tony supposed that Earth and humanity were safe.

"What are you two even talking about?", asked Peter confused, trying to keep up with them.

"Nothing, nothing", assured Shuri innocently. "Now come. Show me my room."

"As you wish", chuckled Tony. "It may not be what you're used to – what with it not being a palace and also us not having Wakandan technology – but you are welcomed to stay as long as you want to and if you need anything, just ask our AI, Fry will be happy to help, right girl?"

"Yes, boss", replied Friday. "Welcome to the Avengers Mansion, Princess Shuri."

"Ye—eah, drop the 'princess' since I'm staying here", hummed Shuri and looked around curiously. "Fry, was it? An AI? Self-learning? Where does she reside?"

"Yes, self-learning. And everywhere", replied Tony. "I'll be happy to introduce you to the inner workings of her, but for now I have an important meeting with a lawyer about some aliens, so I will leave you in the capable hands of Peter. Petey, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Shuri nodded pleased at that, seemingly itching to get her hands on Friday and learn more. After all, as far as Tony knew she had never created an AI before – that was simply not her preferred field of working. Sometimes, people forgot that being a genius didn't mean that someone did absolutely everything; even a genius still specialized in something. But for now, Tony really had to concentrate on his meeting with Murdock. So far, every step of their plan of easing the world into the arrival of the Asgardians was working relatively smoothly – Ross aside. He'd like to keep it that way.

/break\

Peter was fidgeting as he watched Shuri unpack her things. The room was nice. Well, most rooms at the mansion were really nice. Things Tony Stark owned were generally nice.

"Why so fidgety, Spider-Boy?", asked Shuri curiously.

"I, uh... have a present for you", shrugged Peter awkwardly.

"Seriously, you're being weird. Stop being weird. What is it?", grunted Shuri.

She sat down on her bed with her legs crossed, eyebrows raised in expectation. Peter shifted and got something out of his pocket, handing it off to Shuri and ruffling his own hair.

"I know it's... you could probably do it better yourself, but I've been toying around with it and originally I wanted to send it to you in Wakanda so you'd have like a reminder of me?"

Peter's rambling was amusing. His gift however... Shuri stared surprised. It was a spider, the size of her hand – a robot. It cocked its head as it looked up at Shuri.

"A robot spider?", asked Shuri curiously.

"There's a baby-AI implanted in it. You said you always work alone in your lab and I just figured... so you wouldn't be so alone, you know? Also, long-distance transmitter link to Karen so you and I could always communicate, wherever we are, with no problems", elaborated Peter.

"That's... really sweet of you", replied Shuri surprised.

Just because she could probably do better didn't mean she couldn't appreciate the effort someone put into doing something nice for her. And the spider's design was really cute. It rubbed its face against Shuri's hand when she reached out for it, making her grin broadly.

"Tony helped me a lot with programming the AI", admitted Peter after a moment.

"It's really cool", smiled Shuri. "Thanks. I already know what I'll name it."

"Yeah?", asked Peter curiously.

"Park-R", replied Shuri mischievously.

/break\

Avengers Mansion was nice. Not what she was used to, sure, but if she would have wanted more of the same, she would have stayed in Wakanda. And Friday fascinated Shuri. Shuri was mainly focusing on defense and offense; weapons and transportation. Artificial Intelligence was not something that had ever quite piqued her interest, though that did not mean that actually working and functioning AI didn't fascinate her. Both Friday and Karen seemed pretty cool, personality-wise. It was cute seeing Peter talk to his suit like it was a real human being.

"Shuri, those are my friends, Miles and Ned."

Shuri grinned and waved at the two awkward boys next to Peter. Peter had asked her with large puppy-dog eyes if she wanted to meet his friends – though she would have to keep his secret identity a secret; apparently he had not known this Miles for very long and hadn't trusted him with the secret of Spider-Man just yet. Coming from a country where absolutely everybody knew the face of their greatest hero, Shuri found the whole dual identity nonsense the Americans did rather bewildering, but she could respect Peter's wishes.

"Your, uh, highness", greeted Miles and bowed.

Shuri started laughing at that. "Don't. Don't do that. It's all cool. I'm Shuri, nice to meet you."

"Likewise", repeated Ned with a broad grin. "Is it true that the Black Panther is your brother?"

Ah, the superhero-nerd. Peter's best friend who also knew his secret. Okay, this just officially became weird, because Shuri... had never actually felt the need to impress someone before. She was the princess, the scientist, the genius. But those were Peter's friends and Peter was Shuri's first real friend she had made in... years. So she wanted his friends to like her. How... odd.

"Black Panther, king of Wakanda, giant dork, that's my brother", confirmed Shuri amused.

"Okay, so, we were thinking of showing you around a little?", offered Peter. "You've only been to New York once, right? Last time you were here, you weren't here long though."

"A tour of New York. Sounds good", nodded Shuri. "Lead the way, boys."

"You know, we just did this last month with another relative of an Avenger", mused Miles.

Shuri raised one eyebrow. If only he knew. Peter had told Shuri all about Hela Lokisdottir, the Asgardian witch who had dropped by to announce the return of Thor and Loki. Another reason Shuri was excited to be in New York – well, technically one of the main reasons actually; getting the chance to study Asgardian technology with Tony, Peter, Hope and Jane had been too fascinating last time for her to stay away for long. It was a whole new level and it was the most exciting thing Shuri had ever done. The thought of the Asgardians actually returning to Earth, meaning they could talk to them about the technology, it was making her feel so enthusiastic.

/break\

Peter was hanging from the wall, dictating a formula to Jane, who was scribbling like crazy onto the blackboard with interjections from Hope. Shuri and Tony all the while were leaning over the table, debating something. Honestly, Shuri coming to New York had really quick-started their studies on Asgardian technology. They were still far from cracking it, all things considered, but they were definitely on the right track here. Like this, rebuilding the Bifrost actually seemed within their reach, which was more than just exciting for Jane – she had been working alone on this for so long. But the new perspectives, the additional minds, they had really brought things along.

"You liking the baby spider?", asked Tony amused as he spotted the robot on Shuri's head.

"Yes, Park-R is very adorable and useful", declared Shuri, patting Park-R's head in praise.

Tony knew he was not really useful. He was more a fun pet than an actual useful AI, but he could see she still loved the little guy. Park-R perked up at her praise. She had been living at the mansion for two weeks now and she had gotten very comfortable among the Avengers. Or, well – the Avengers who were currently available. Carol was off-world again – after having returned with confirmation about the destruction of Asgard, she told them that she had to report to someone called Nova Prime and talk to some people, so she had left for a longer trip. Rhodey, Sharon and Vision were currently in Washington, heatedly arguing the Asgardians' case – first and foremost Loki's case to get a head-start on it. So it kind of were only Jane, Hope, Tony and Darcy these days. Which did suit Shuri just fine, considering she had already befriended the scientists and their PR girl.

"Hello."

Conversation between the scientists halted at the new voice and everyone turned to look at Hela. The Asgardian was smiling innocently and waving at them, though she paused when she saw Shuri. There was curiosity on her face as she tilted her head.

"Hela! You're back! Why are you back?", asked Peter and dropped from the ceiling.

"I was told to return with a heads-up once we are closing in on Earth. I am here to deliver said heads-up", replied Hela with a polite smile. "It is good to see you again, Peter."

"Yeah!", agreed Peter, a broad grin on his face as he half-hugged her. "Oh, you gotta meet Shuri. Shuri, this is Hela – Hela, this is Shuri. She's a friend of mine."

The two girls seized each other up as they nodded in greeting, but looking curious and weary to meet this other friend of Peter's. Tony was mildly amused by how oblivious Peter was to just how much his friends valued him. Shaking his head, Tony cleared his throat.

"Just how far is 'closing in on Earth', Mischief Junior?", asked Tony.

"Mh, Bruce said two or three days", replied Hela and tilted her head. "Will that suffice?"

"Let's hope", muttered Tony and ran his hands over his face.

He really hoped that Sharon, Rhodey and Vision would return in time. It would also help to have their only other alien – half-alien – member to return by then too.

/break\

When Tony had made him leader of the Avengers, Rhodey had expected to deal with a lot, but somehow this exceeded all expectations. By the time him, Vision and Sharon returned to the mansion, he was physically and emotionally exhausted from talking to heartless politicians. He knew he shouldn't be surprised. The way the government treated _human_ immigrants already showed plainly just how much they really disliked those who were not like them and those who were immigrants – hell, Rhodey could attest for the first one himself _very much_. You didn't have to be an actual alien from another planet to feel alien in the United States. To make a case for three-hundred actual extra-terrestrial alien immigrants was considerably hard.

"How did it go?"

Rhodey sighed when he realized he was not yet done. He was only _co_ -leader of the Avengers and even though no longer leader by name, they all respected Tony as the man behind the Avengers still so there were two people Rhodey had to bring up to speed. Granted, he was a bit surprised that Carol had made it back before them. Rhodey gladly took the drink Tony offered him.

"Better than anticipated, I suppose. Darcy's work really pays off. There were hundreds of people protesting outside, protesting in favor of Banner and Thor", started Rhodey as he heavily sat down next to Carol. "Pressure from the public is huge. They are heroes, after all. And the reminder of what Asgardians can do... and the _technology_ they're bringing along... it swayed the council."

"Figures", snorted Carol and shook her head.

"How about you, Car?", asked Rhodey, looking at the blonde.

"Apparently, it really was an internal power-struggle that destroyed Asgard, so no direct threat for us", replied Carol with a shake of her head. "But there's a different kind of trouble on the horizon. One that I don't know when he'll find his way here."

"He?", echoed Tony disturbed, tapping his fingers against his knee.

"Thanos. A pretty insane alien who's into destroying half a planet when visiting it", replied Carol.

"Thanos? But that's the name Thor mentioned in his letter", grunted Tony with a frown.

"That's why I went to talk to Nova Prime", confirmed Carol with a nod. "The name sounded vaguely familiar. I wanted to check in. He's a... threat. One you fought before."

"When? Wait. The aliens in New York?", asked Rhodey wide-eyed.

"That was his fleet", confirmed Carol. "He thought it would be an easy take-over, but when his fleet was destroyed so easily, he decided to first focus on easier targets for now. That, however, means at one point he will return to finish what he started."

"Sounds like three-hundred Asgardians might be a very good addition to Earth then, even if only a small percentage are warriors", muttered Tony, stroking his goatee thoughtfully.

"Defense technology is what we have to work on", stated Carol seriously. "You weren't wrong when you started working on Ultron, even if your... approach was rushed and hasty. At its basis, that's exactly what we need if we want to defend this planet."

Tony flinched at the mention of Ultron. He knew he had been right, of course did he know. They had destroyed a fleet of aliens that were definitely not Asgardian in nature so they were not actually Loki's – of course was there _more_. Still, a part of him had truly hoped to be mistaken.

"I can't-", started Tony and took a shaky breath.

"Tones", whispered Rhodey gently and rested a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"It's not like last time. The witch is not in your head anymore. You're not alone with Bruce. You can work with a team. You have time. You don't need to rush into this. Test and double-test. We can set up check-in points with other scientists."

"Jim is right", agreed Carol, one eyebrow raised. "Not only that but you have alien-input, from me and from whatever Asgardian scientists will arrive in two days."

Still, all Tony could think of was Ultron. He shook his head and took a deep breath.

"I won't be in charge", whispered Tony and shook his head. "I _can't_ be in charge, not after last time. Not after Ultron. People still blame me-"

"Yes, and only you and it's pissing me off", grunted Rhodey annoyed. "Bruce and Maximoff got off scott's free while you get to play sacrificial lamb again."

Tony smiled faintly at his Rhodey, while Carol hummed thoughtfully. "I'd say Janie would make for a better figure-head anyway. She's been studying specifically alien-technology for years now. And with the Asgardians arriving, we have a rather solid pitch why we need defense – considering that a threat had destroyed _their_ planet and any number of threats could come for ours too. We'll take it very slow, pace it well. Do it right, together."

Tony tilted his head at that and sighed. He could already see the ensuing dumpster-fire...

"One crisis at a time. Let's focus on the arrival of the Asgardians for now", requested Tony.

"How were things going with finding housing for them?", asked Carol.

"Hope is a gem who talked to Sue to talk Reed into actually donating the tower to help out the Asgardians in need", replied Tony with an amused smile. "We got the tower cleaned up and stocked with the bare essentials to house people in it."

"Now all we need is the arrival of the Asgardians", nodded Carol.

/break\

Jane stood between Hope and Darcy, staring at the same point on the sky as everybody else in New York. The space-ship that had appeared at the horizon earlier this morning, slowly approaching. It was the focus of all news. They were going to land in the water, some time soon.

"This is definitely exciting", hummed Shuri where she stood with Hela and Peter.

Over the past two days, the girls had been hanging out a lot. Shuri was amazed by Hela's magic – and Hela was amazed by Shuri's 'magic', as she referred to Vibranium. Tony hung back some, watching the rest of his team with weary eyes. Carol and Sharon were talking to Rhodey and Vision, probably about how the Avengers were going to handle Thor and Bruce's return.

The public was being held back from the immediate landing sight – the last thing the Asgardians needed were some overly curious Americans, not directly after first touching down on Earth. The Asgardians had elected representatives that would handle public relations and be willing to answer all questions the Midgardians would have – Thor and Sif. Allowing the civilian Asgardians to get settled in first. Tony looked up when Jane rested a hand on his upper arm.

"Nervous?", asked Tony teasingly.

"It's... been a while since I last saw Thor and Sif", admitted Jane. "And I'm not sure how I feel about Thor's claims that his brother is a changed man..."

After what felt like an eternity of watching the ship, it finally touched down on the water and with an even longer wait did the ship open and people started to pour out. The first to step foot on land was Bruce Banner. Tony tentatively walked past his team.

"Brucie. Long time no see", offered Tony playfully.

"Tony", whispered Bruce before laughter bubbled up.

Tony blinked surprised when he found himself engulfed in a hug. "Hey. I missed you too."

"Where are the others?", asked Bruce as he looked over Tony's shoulder to only spot Rhodey and Vision. "Steve? Natasha? Clint? Tony, what's going on?"

"All in due time, Doctor Banner", offered Carol with a polite smile. "I'm Captain Carol Danvers, leader of the Avengers. Welcome back on Earth."

"Lead...", stuttered Bruce stunned, turning to look at Tony.

"Like she said, let me and the others explain it to you and Thor inside", whispered Tony.

"Tony!", exclaimed Thor, his laughter jolly as he just picked Tony up and whirled him around. "It is good to be back with my shield brothers! And... Lady Jane. You look... lovely."

After putting Tony down, Thor stared awkwardly at Jane, unsure what to do. But when she saw him, Jane couldn't help but lung into a hug. She had missed him. Darcy immediately joined their hug.

"Stupid giant Golden Retriever! You could have visited more often!", chided Darcy.

Thor laughed, a far softer sound now, as he wrapped his arms around his two oldest human friends. Next to leave the ship were Heimdall, Sif and Valkyrie. Those three looked around in wonder. While Heimdall had seen the realm of man many times, he had never actually _been_ there.

"Sif", greeted Jane with a smile. "It is good to see you again."

"Likewise, Jane", smiled Sif and shook the doctor's hand. "This is Hilde, the newest addition to Asgard. She prefers to be called Valkyrie though."

"It's nice to meet you", nodded Jane, offering her hand to the stranger.

Hilde glared at Sif for a moment for introducing her by her real name, before shaking the offered hand. "So you're Thor's other ex-girlfriend? I see he really does have taste in women."

Sif rolled her eyes while Jane blushed faintly and smiled. "Uh, thank you."

"Hela, sweetie, you remember what we talked about?", asked Tony as he saw who exited next.

The new arrivals turned to where Hela stood next to Tony, biting her lips. Suddenly, she dashed forward to hug her father as Loki exited the ship next. They gave her a moment, but then Rhodey and Carol stepped up to them and cleared their throats.

"Father, please be reasonable", begged Hela. "They promised to take care of it, but you have to cooperate. Please for once, don't cause mischief and behave yourself."

Loki brushed his daughter's hair out of her face and smiled, before he straightened his posture proudly. Rhodey cuffed him and he and Carol flanked him from either side.

"Loki Odinsson-", started Rhodey.

"Friggason", corrected Loki, chin raised proudly.

"Loki Friggason", corrected Rhodey, one eyebrow raised. "You are hereby under arrest for the crimes committed against humanity in New York and Stuttgart. You have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be held against you."

"Tony-", started Thor with a frown. "I explained to you-"

"Yes, you did, big guy", assured Tony, patting Thor's back. "And if what you said is true, everything is going to be alright. But for now, we gotta arrest him as a hostile alien threat. There will be a trial and you can testify on his behalf. For now, let Rhodey and Carol do their job as Avengers."

Tony knew this was hard on Thor, but he also knew Thor had to understand, just like last time, that Loki needed to be arrested and held accountable. As Rhodey and Carol walked past them, with Loki in their midst, the trickster turned to look at his brother and when doing so, caught Tony's eyes.

It startled Tony, because the sorcerer's eyes were a clear, dark green like cut emeralds. Not a radiant blue as he remembered from their encounter at Stark Tower. Not the Tessaract-blue.

"Brother, please do as they say for now!", called Thor out.

He wrapped a protective arm around his distraught niece as they watched Loki be led away.

"Come on. Let's show your people where they can stay", offered Tony softly.

"You really found housing for everyone?", asked Bruce surprised.

"There's a tower that was standing empty anyway", replied Tony casually.

"But... where are the Avengers staying?", wanted Bruce to know as they approached Stark Tower.

"We have a mansion now", declared Darcy smugly. "Hey, Darcy Lewis, official PR manager of the Avengers. Been posting a lot about you lately, Doctor B. Big fan."

"Thank... you, Miss Lewis", nodded Bruce wearily. "Tony, where is the rest of _our_ team?"

"I'll explain everything, after we drop them off", promised Tony, dreading that explanation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE ASGARDIANS ARRIVED! It only took nine chapters, but here they are! ^-^v
> 
> Now, Bruce has questions. Technically only one that just doesn't get answered, but hey. So next chapter, there will be some explaining that needs to be done. And when we're already talking about the Civil War, it's time to check in with the losing side of that too, so stay tuned! Drama and revelations ahead! ;D


	10. The Trial of Loki Friggason (Part 1)

_Chapter 10: The Trial of Loki Friggason (Part 1)_

T'Challa closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, a pleased smile on his lips. Serene. Peaceful.

"You're truly enjoying that the princess ain't here."

A nearly mischievous smile found its way onto T'Challa's lips as he opened his eyes and very deliberately unfolded his newspaper. "Look at me, James. I am reading the newspaper, with no snarky comments about ancient, outdated media that unnecessarily kills trees. I can just... enjoy the news, the way I want during breakfast. And no one ate my strawberries."

James chuckled lowly and shook his head. "You're not... worried? She's a genius, but she is... she is still a kid? In a different country."

"Shuri will be fine", chuckled T'Challa. "She can take care of herself and she is with... a friend I trust. So for the time being, I can simply enjoy my newspa-"

T'Challa grunted as the newspaper was suddenly ripped out of his hands by James. The other man carefully smoothed it down with his one hand and looking at the front page that had been facing him until only moments before. T'Challa frowned to see what had caught James' attention. Ah.

_The Avengers: Long-Awaited Reunion_

Today's headline of the New York Times. T'Challa smirked amused and leaned back. He knew what James must be thinking at the headline alone. He had tried to stay out of the news as much as possible, mostly living in his hut in the valley, tending to his goats. Once a week, every Sunday, he would join the royal family at breakfast before going to his appointment with the modified BARF program. It was working wonders in shutting down the Winter Soldier programming, after Shuri had built on the foundation that Stark had handed to her. Slowly, over the past months, the Winter Soldier ceased to exist. But who remained was not Bucky anymore either, not after everything he had gone through. A few weeks in, he had requested to be called James, trying to find his own, new path. T'Challa respected that. He respected the man a lot. The two men had formed a tentative friendship over those past months of James Barnes living in Wakanda.

"Bruce Banner and Thor Odinson", muttered James lowly, voice a bit confused.

"Yes. They were founding members of the Avengers", supplied T'Challa, unsure just how much James really knew about them prior to what had been dubbed the Civil War. "They disappeared a while back and apparently were off-planet the whole time."

"Mh. I just thought-", started James, not finishing his sentence.

He shook his head before returning the newspaper to T'Challa. The king closed it again to actually look at the front-page (he always started with the cultural section). The photo beneath the headline was of Carol Danvers and Thor Odinson shaking hands, Tony and Rhodey on either side of Captain Danvers, while Bruce Banner and a dark-haired woman T'Challa had never seen before flanked Thor. The description labeled her as Lady Sif. Interesting. T'Challa had heard of her.

"Are you worried for Mister Rogers and his people?", inquired T'Challa curiously.

"I dunno", shrugged James with a frown. "Stevie'll be alright. I just can't shake what they said when they were still here. That they'd return to being Avengers once Stark'll see reason."

"That won't happen", hummed T'Challa, wondering how indeed the Exvengers were taking this.

/break\

Steve stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the news. This couldn't possibly be _real_. He scrambled for the remote control to turn up the volume, startling Clint, who was sharpening his arrows, and Sam, reading his book in the other corner of the room. Their apartment was small and shabby, but it did its purpose. Two bedrooms, one that Natasha and Wanda shared and one that Steve, Sam and Clint shared, a small living room with a kitchenette and a bathroom. They had been here the longest so far; a month. Natasha frowned and poked her head in at the sudden loudness of the news.

"-After nearly two years of missing, Doctor Bruce Banner and Thor Odinson finally return to Earth to reunite with the Avengers in a heartwarming scene."

The news cut to Bruce hugging Tony while laughing, followed by Thor just picking Tony up and whirling him around. That however was not what had Steve that shocked. What truly shocked him was the news-loop at the bottom of the TV – _Trial of Loki Friggason to start this afternoon – Avengers in support of reformed villain – Matt Murdock to defend Loki_.

"Tony... Tony is supporting Loki?", whispered Steve in disbelieve.

"You really surprised?", snorted Wanda coldly.

"Wonder how Thor and Banner are going to take it when they learn the truth", grunted Clint.

"Looks like they replaced us all too", noted Natasha, eyebrows raised.

A woman labeled as Captain Carol Danvers, subtitled with Leader of the Avengers, was speaking to the public on-screen, with Tony and Rhodey standing on either side of her while in the background, other people helped the newly arrived Asgardians out of the ship.

"Sharon", whispered Steve stunned as he spotted the blonde among the group.

"Loki?", muttered Sam and shook his head. "I wonder what they're thinking."

/break\

"What were they _thinking_?", whispered Bruce, running his fingers through his hair.

He was perhaps a hue green as he stared at the screen. Thor and Sif sat with him, Hilde had decided to for now stay with their people, 'just in case' (it figured that she herself could not yet just trust strangers). The three of them were however not the only ones in the room. Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Jane and Darcy were with them. Two blondes who had introduced themselves as Sharon Carter and Carol Danvers had left earlier to go and take care of Loki. Another one, a brunette, Hope van Dyne, had claimed to 'take care of the children' before ushering a group of teenagers away, including Hela.

"One hundred and seventeen nations?", asked Bruce softly, looking up at Tony.

"I know it doesn't look good, because it's Ross and fuck Ross, but-", started Tony hastily.

"A hundred and seventeen nations", confirmed Rhodey with a serious frown, nodding.

Telling them was one thing, one overwhelming and unrealistic sounding thing. The Avengers had an outfall. Wanda had... gotten to join the Avengers? For some reason? And she had endangered people in South Africa? The UN banded together, wanting protection from the Avengers. The Sokovia Accords. Tony had handed them each a copy, with a quip how it would be light evening reading. Of course was Bruce going to read them to form his own opinion on them, but generally? That one hundred and seventeen nations had come to this agreement, partially out of _fear_ of the Avengers? After Sokovia, Bruce... understood it. Wanda had set the Hulk out on innocent people, Bruce and Tony had built a highly dangerous robot that nearly completely destroyed Sokovia. The Avengers, in all their good intentions, were still a threat. No one knew that better than Bruce Banner, because he had always seen himself alone already as a high-risk danger.

To hear that Steve had discarded the Accords without as much as a second glance. That, in the middle of it all, some lunatic wanted personal revenge on the Avengers and was framing Bucky Barnes for a terrorist attack, prompting Steve to of course side with his old friend and causing a rift between the Avengers? And it all peaked in a fight in Germany, for which they had just watched the footage of the surveillance camera. Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Natasha, a kid named Spider-Man and a guy in a cat-suit against Steve, Clint, Sam, Wanda, a size-changing guy and Bucky Barnes.

"To turn your weapons against your brothers and sisters in arm is shameful", grunted Thor.

"It was never supposed to be a fight", sighed Tony, sounding very tired. "We were supposed to talk it out. They were supposed to see reason."

"And all of this over these Accords?", asked Thor displeased. "What do they _mean_?"

"Someone to oversee us", replied Rhodey. "So we can't just charge into whatever foreign country we want, wreaking havoc along the way. Not without the country's consent. We are still free to act in the US. But there is a committee that now reviews our actions. When civilians get hurt, when cities are destroyed, we are held responsible."

"Like... every other normal soldier too?", offered Sif confused. "The concept of an overseeing force is not foreign, is it? War crimes and reckless behavior ought to be reviewed. Is that not common practice on Midgard...?"

"It is", grunted Rhodey and shook his head. "And you'd think soldier-boy would understand that. You can't just _deliberately_ endanger civilians, like Maximoff had done, and not expect any kind of repercussions. But he thought that the Avengers should be their own judges and jury."

Thor grunted and shook his head. He was a warrior and him and Sif and the Warriors Three had always lived by a code, yet still, when things went wrong, the Asgardian high council oversaw it. The same went for the Valkyries prior to their disbandment. They could not just march into another world and do whatever they pleased, risking treaties with said other worlds. While he had never given it much thought how the Avengers operated in detail, he had always assumed such an oversight was somewhere in place and that Tony and Steve, as the leaders, reported to some higher authority to deem their actions justified. Grunting, Thor got up and walked over to Tony.

"It all went horribly wrong somewhere and I tried to fix it-", started Tony to apologize.

Thor rested a heavy hand on Tony's shoulder before pulling him into a hug. "My friend, there is no need to apologize. We, the Avengers, are the defenders of the people and we _must_ listen to what the people want. I am sorry that... our team has fallen apart while we were away and I would have much liked to aid you in this battle."

Suddenly, months of tension seemed to melt from Tony as he returned Thor's hug. A part of him had somehow feared that Thor and Bruce would be angry with him, blame him for everything – like Clint had done. Because it was easier to blame Tony than to acknowledge that _they had chosen to break the law_ and had been rightfully arrested for said breaking of the law.

"What happened after the incident in Germany?", asked Bruce, eyes soft.

"Well, while they were in custody, I... found out that it was only a set-up. I left to help Steve and then... everything went wrong. Steve broke the others out of prison and they had been on the run since then", replied Tony awkwardly, shrugging.

"Everything went wrong is not a very detailed report", pointed Sif out, eyebrows raised. "How could anything possibly have gone wrong from thereon? You had the information to clear this... Sargent Barnes' name and came to aid your fellow warrior?"

"Tony doesn't talk about that", offered Rhodey. "Whatever it was, it ended with me getting a call from T'Challa – dude in the cat-suit – about Tony being severely injured in Siberia."

"Is that why...", started Bruce, reaching a tentative hand out toward the arc-reactor.

"Yeah", nodded Tony before shrugging. "That's that."

"That is most definitely not that", grunted Thor with a frown. "What transpired? Was there an attack? Did the man who set you up overwhelm you and Steve?"

"Tony, please. This is all a lot to take in, but we want the whole story", pleaded Bruce.

Rhodey gritted his teeth, eyebrows drawn close as he watched Tony. Tony hadn't even told him, or anyone for that matter, what had happened in Siberia. But Rhodey would never forget the sheer panic he had felt when Vision had returned with Tony, battered and bruised and barely alive.

"They're right, Tones. You should totally share with the group", agreed Darcy cautiously.

Tony took a shaky breath, looking at those of his team that were present. Rhodey had pressed the issue a lot – Pepper had pressed the issue even more, she had looked ready to hunt down Captain America and shove his shield up his ass personally, which was why Tony never spoke of it. There was no point in further antagonizing the symbol of America, was there?

"Tony", whispered Jane gently, resting a hand on his shoulder and looking at him with those eyes.

Those very caring, 'you have friends, please trust us' eyes. Tony still couldn't believe that he had made such friends, that he had managed to build such a team. Heaving a sigh, Tony ran his fingers through his hair and leaning against the backrest of the couch.

"So... Zemo had a tape. Of the Winter Soldier. Killing... my mother and my father", started Tony, voice quiet. "And I lost it. I saw them die, right in front of me. And Steve _knew_. He has known for _years_ , but he never told me. He should have told me. Had he told me two years ago, when he found out, I could have digested. I could have come to terms with it. But in that moment, I was just... blinded by rage. And we fought, me and them. Highlights include, but are not limited to, me blasting Barnes' arm off and Steve ramming his shield into the arc-reactor."

Tony jumped when something hit the wall. The look on Rhodey's face after throwing the nearest lamp was one of murderous intend. He had never told them what had happened _for a reason_.

"So it was his shield", snarled Rhodey angrily. "The dent in the armor, the broken reactor, the reason you needed the arc-reactor planted in again. That was the glorious symbol of peace, yeah?"

"Rhodey, please", sighed Tony and shook his head. "There's no point in getting angry about it. It's in the past. Steve made his choice. He chose Barnes over everything."

"Where are they now, Tony?", asked Bruce with a frown.

"Barnes is in Wakanda, getting fixed up", replied Tony. "I know he didn't... He was brainwashed. What he had done in the name of Hydra were not his own actions. They're working on fully deprogramming him and, you know, therapy and all that jazz."

"The others, Tony", pressed Bruce a bit unimpressed.

"Who knows", shrugged Tony. "Ran off, in hiding somewhere. Hope said that the guy who goes from super tiny to giant size made a deal, got house-arrest for the next two years. The others? The actual Avengers? They would face serious charges if caught, but no one knows where they are."

Of course did Tony know exactly where they were. Rogers had given him that stupid ancient phone with only one number saved. Like Tony couldn't track down a damn phone-number to its location. Sometimes, Tony wondered why he never rattled them out, got them arrested. But the bigger part of him still very vividly had nightmares of Clint, looking him dead in the eyes and after all those years as a team, flat-out claiming that he couldn't be trusted and would stab them in the back. Like he had personally put them into their cells and they had no control over their own unlawful actions. Not again. Tony was not going to be the one to put them behind bars. They would be caught, eventually. The witch was far too outstanding to stay hidden for long, Steve Rogers was one of the best-known faces of the world. At one point, they wouldn't be able to hide anymore, but Tony didn't want anything to do with that. He had _his_ Avengers, here. He had good to do.

"Now, if you'd excuse me, I'll get some rest before meeting up with the trickster prince tomorrow. Darcy, will you be a dear and show them their rooms? Thank you."

/break\

Bruce frowned wondrously as he looked around the living room. It was somehow far more personal than the tower had ever been. There was a patchwork blanket thrown over one of the couches, a physics magazine and a pair of fuzzy slippers with _J_ embroidered on them right in front of it. On the table on the other side of the couch stood an obnoxiously pink mug still half-filled with chocolate and marshmallows and opposite the mug was what looked like tenth grade homework spread out on it. The interior-design was far less standard rich people, as the tower had been, and more personal touches. Especially all the posters on the wall. Not just framed movie posters of the original _Star Wars_ trilogy and the first _Ghostbusters_. No, those were cheap posters, out of some teen magazine – posters of the Avengers. They hung on the wall in a neat line-up, but put there with pins like actual teens had put them up. Each a single-person full-page poster, with the respective Avenger posing in front of a generic background and the Avenger's name splashed in some hip or stylish font. Iron Man, War Machine, Vision, Captain Marvel, The Wasp, Agent 13 – and one of Doctor Foster and Darcy Lewis posing together with bright smiles. That was the current line-up of the Avengers. Bruce had been introduced to all those people, outside of their costumes though. Carol Danvers, Hope van Dyne and Sharon Carter, the new power-houses of the Avengers.

"I made those", declared Darcy with pride as she suddenly popped up behind Bruce, startling him. "I mean, I didn't shoot them, but they were my idea. We need more merchandise of the Avengers."

"Because we need the money?", asked Bruce, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, no. We're government funded and paid. All money made with the merchandise actually goes into charity funds, helping the people who suffer losses at the hands of villains. Like, say, a Doombot smashing an apartment building? Insurance only covers so much. Our charity funds help them even more", elaborated Darcy with a smile. "No, it's all because... the Avengers have to be the good guys. The people can't be _afraid_ of their heroes. Which... they were, after the footage of that fight in Germany hit the news."

"The Avengers are doing a lot of good, far beyond just saving the world", added Jane as she entered the room and approached them. "Hello, Doctor Banner. I'm the head of the science division of the Avengers Initiative. And as such, I would absolutely fail if I wasn't trying to recruit you."

"R... Recruit me?", echoed Bruce doubtfully.

"Well, whether or not the Hulk will rejoin the Avengers, that's up to you and Carol and Rhodey, but the brilliant mind of Bruce Banner? I do need that on my team", stated Jane with a cheeky smile.

Bruce paused for a moment before he smiled. "For now, I'd like to settle in, but... I'll give it a thought. What... exactly is this... science division?"

"You and Tony did incredible work together, but Ultron is something that happened and the world saw it and was afraid. So sciencing among the Avengers happens in an official setting now. The science division. New projects are first run by me, as the head, and then greenlit. We need to make sure nothing goes incredibly wrong", explained Jane. "It's just me, Tony, Hope, P... Spider-Man and Princess Shuri right now. Doctor Helen Cho occasionally calls in, but she is actually on maternal leave these days, if you were wondering. It's a boy, Amadeus."

Bruce grunted at that, eyebrows raised. "A kid? I gotta... congratulate her, when I get to it."

"Well, I just wanted to say hello, personally, outside of the whole group-setting. It's a pleasure to be working with you. Think on my offer and get back to me with a yes", stated Jane.

She really was how Thor had described her. It made Bruce smile amused.

/break\

Thor sat with a frown, eating a poptart that Darcy had handed him to cheer him up. It had indeed been a lot to process and while it was a huge relief to be back on Earth and to have his people housed safely here, it was a shock to hear what had transpired between his team. He and Bruce had not once doubted that they would return to their old team. Darcy sat opposite him, drinking hot chocolate out of a very stark-pink mug. The Asgardian startled when all of a sudden, a young brunette boy popped up right in front of him, with large, sparkling eyes.

"Hello, Mister Thor, sir. Uh, your highness because you're a king now?", sputtered the kid.

Thor frowned curiously. What did this random child do at the Avengers Mansion?

"Uncle Thor! This is my friend Peter! He really wants to meet you and I told him he should just come!", declared Hela as she trailed after the brunette boy. "He is a... what did you call it, Shuri?"

"A fanboy", chuckled the girl walking next to Hela.

The other Avengers present, Rhodey and the new Captain leaning against the counter and drinking coffee, turned to watch them amused. Apparently, the presence of teenagers seemed to not surprise them? Though Thor was unsure who the young lady was.

"Peter!", exclaimed Thor enthusiastically and got up. "I have heard great things of you from my niece! Son of Tony, I am more than pleased to meet you!"

Rhodey made a choking sound as his coffee went down the wrong pipe. "W... What?"

"Peter Tonyson!", stated Thor proudly, resting a hand on Peter's head. "Hela has told me all of friend Tony's son! Though I do wonder why he has never mentioned the boy before."

Carol started laughing as she patted Rhodey on the back, who was still fighting with his coughing fit. Peter stared doe-eyed up at Thor, cheeks red in embarrassment before turning toward Hela.

"I... I'm not-", started Peter, just to be interrupted by a delighted Darcy.

"He is not public knowledge", declared Darcy with a grin and took a picture.

 _Thor just praised your SON. Something you wanna tell us?_ , texted Darcy in the Avengers group-chat for Tony to see later. This definitely needed to be used against him.

/break\

Tony stared blank-faced at his phone and Darcy's text. Really? Thor thought Peter was Tony's _son_? Tony stumbled a bit as that information sank in. He shook his head astonished.

"Everything alright, Tony? Do we need to get back to the mansion?", asked Sharon next to him.

"No. No, it's... you'll see for yourself later", grunted Tony and shook his head.

"I was surprised that you want to see him today. I figured you'd want to stay with Bruce and Thor for a while longer, maybe even... fully stay out of this thing", mused Sharon.

"Staying out of things has never been my thing, Shar", chuckled Tony dryly. "I need to talk to him."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Tony", sighed Sharon. "Murdock is handling the case. We should only get involved later, when... during the trial, when you have to testify – you, meaning the ones that were Avengers back when everything went down, that is."

"Of course. That makes sense. Yeah", nodded Tony slowly. "Again, not a thing I like doing."

"Making sense?", snorted Sharon and shook her head.

"Exactly", chimed Tony delighted. "No, Shar, I really... If we plan on pulling through with this, I need to see for myself. He needs to convince _me_ that he can be trusted. I can't... I've made enough mistakes with whom to trust. The last mind-controlling witch the Avengers trusted turned out to _not_ be the best decision and while Thor's word and Bruce's word are one thing..."

"He's been well-behaved, for what it's worth", offered Sharon softly. "He let himself be processed and brought to his cell, hasn't tried to escape just yet."

"Good. Good", nodded Tony slowly, wringing his hands. "That's... a start."

Sharon chuckled as she approached the guards in front of the heavy metal doors. After showing her badge and his badge and scanning their retinas, Sharon and Tony were let into the room. Tony and Sharon exchanged one last look before stepping inside. Sharon hung back, leaning against the wall and observing quietly. She had just come along to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Did you come to finally give me that drink you offered me last time?"

It took Tony a moment before he laughed and shook his head. "I tell you what, Rudolph. If you actually play nice with the other people and get cleared of all charges, drinks are on me."

Loki in a jumpsuit looked surreal. His hands were covered and chained together. Yet despite all that, he still looked regal as he leaned back on his chair, like a king. Tony smiled, one of his official press-smiles, as he sat down on the chair opposite Loki. The official trial was not to start for another three days, but everyone in the room knew this was where the trial of Loki Friggason truly started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ten chapters in and Loki and Tony finally meet! Wow. This is easily the slowest slow-burn I have ever written. *laughs sheepishly* And yes, the chapter is "Part 1", because that was A LOT to digest for Thor and Bruce and we're gonna elaborate more on their reaction next chapter, as well as Loki's situation!
> 
> Now, one last thing. I spent some time thinking on the "Avengers 3.0" that Shuri wants, so I ended up drawing them - if you wanna check it out, [it's on my DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/takara-phoenix/art/The-Junior-Avengers-784039290)! ;)


	11. The Trial of Loki Friggason (Part 2)

_Chapter 11: The Trial of Loki Friggason (Part 2)_

"Mind controlled, mh? Who managed to control a supposed god?"

"A titan", replied Loki and leaned back in his chair. "The mad titan. Thanos. I'm sure my _beloved_ brother hasn't failed to mention him in his little letters."

"Why?", asked Tony instead, not minding Loki. "Why would he control you?"

For a split second, Loki made a face. Agitation. Somehow, exactly what Tony would expect. Loki was proud and to be controlled by someone else... Well, Tony could imagine. Actually, Tony could remember. Being controlled by Wanda back then. He took a breath and shook his head.

"He took advantage of my anger toward Thor", admitted Loki with gritted teeth. "I was a _puppet_ in his plans to take over yet another world."

"So you're a completely innocent victim in all of this?", asked Tony doubtfully.

"As innocent as a baby", chimed Loki with a charming smile.

Tony snorted in disbelief. Okay, this was not getting him anywhere. It figured Loki would be defensive and play it up. He was too proud to admit the truth. Tony just prayed he would do better at the actual trial – and that Heimdall, Sif, Thor and Bruce's testimonies additionally to the evidence would be enough to clear things, for the most part. Still, Tony needed to know if there was any... goodness there. There were so many things that Loki had done over the years, despite how much Thor swore he was a changed man. They had let Wanda into their team without any screening or checking just because she had changed her tune once it became evident Ultron would kill _everyone_ , including them. Not much motivation to change your fundamental beliefs. Who was to say that Loki was just playing it up to be on the safe side now?

"Speaking of babies, I met your daughter."

The look on Loki's face was exactly what Tony had been looking for. It was steeled, cold, calculating – and ready for murder. _If anything happens to my daughter, I will rip the limbs apart from everyone involved_. Interesting. Tony tilted his head curiously.

"Lovely girl", continued Tony before Loki had the chance to voice any threats – they _were_ under surveillance after all and it would not be beneficial for the trial if he'd be threatening now.

Loki's face did a thing then – a strange look, a mixture between suspicious, doubtful and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Not overly surprising; he was probably expecting his daughter to come up as a bargaining chip. Behave yourself or she will suffer. From everything Peter had told Tony, the girl's been an outcast among Asgardians and others too. For reasons neither Tony nor Peter could quite understand. Though Tony had a suspicion it might be connected to the magic. Thor had told them that Loki had been an outcast too for his magic. His gut told Tony that there might be _more_ to the story, but that was not the focus of either this conversation or the trial so it was put on the back-burner until the trial would be past. Loki's reaction however was exactly what Tony had been looking for, what he had come for. He offered the trickster an overly sweet smile.

"She's a sweetheart, been getting along wonderfully with Peter and his friends", stated Tony, like this was casual conversation over a coffee. "She has a way around people, you know. Everyone seems to adore her. So she is more than safe, at the Avengers' mansion. No worries, Thor and Bruce are with her too. She's very worried about you, you know."

"No idea where she got that from", drawled Loki in a neutral way.

Tony snorted softly and shook his head. It was quite obvious that Loki worried about her; that was where she got it from. Loki Friggason had a heart and it beat for his daughter.

"What are your plans here, Bambi?", asked Tony, leaning forward with a more serious expression on his face. "Play nice with everyone, get out of jail free and cause chaos and destruction?"

"Contrary of popular belief, I am not that interested in chaos and destruction", replied Loki, a bored look on his face. "I wanted the throne. Of Asgard. But Asgard is gone. I do like a bit of mischief, but what is my gain in destroying this place if I now have to live here? It's really illogical. I'm not a goody-two-shoes like Thor is, but that doesn't mean I'm an _idiot_. I would have taken over this planet and not tried to _destroy_ it – what would have been my gain in that?"

Ah, Loki knew where this was going. Tony smiled amused. It figured. Loki was a mastermind, he was brilliant – Tony knew that. It was one of the reasons why he believed that Loki had been mind-controlled during the New York attack. His actions made little sense at times, they were not entirely thought through, he made easy and simple mistakes. There was _no way_ a thousands of years old alien would be so easily fooled by the Black Widow, regardless of her skill-level. A master manipulator was not _that_ easily manipulated. There was more to it than met the eye.

"How?", asked Tony flat-out. "How did he manage to manipulate _you_? Why would you let him close enough to gain access to your mind?"

The scepter. Tony knew that, he had already filed it for the court. The effects the scepter even had on the Avengers – only in close proximity already, not even _using_ it. Steve, Tony and Bruce, in that room, the tempers rising only because the scepter was _there_. It would not have _allowed_ an easy usage. Loki could not possibly have wielded it according to his own free will because the scepter brought out dark, bad sides. No argument that Loki had darker, worse sides there – but they would have been amplified through the scepter, amplified by a lot.

"He promised me power, the power to enact revenge on Thor", replied Loki dryly. "And after I accepted the weapon, the scepter, it got... into my head, steadily. I suppose I overestimated my mental defenses, or underestimated the powers of an Infinity Stone."

Tony narrowed his eyes. No. No, there was more to this story than what Loki was willing to offer. Still, he was offering more than Tony had expected. It seemed that, regardless of how far-fetched it may sound, Loki was actually willing to cooperate. Whether it was for his daughter's sake – it seemed to actually matter to Loki how Hela saw him – or, as he claimed, that it was pointless to destroy the place he was living at, or maybe something entirely different. Perhaps there was a long game here, play nice for now, take planet over later. Who knew. The best sell right now was Loki Friggason, loving father and victim of mind-control. For the most part, Tony even believed that.

He believed that Loki truly loved Hela and that he would do everything for her. He also believed that Loki had been the victim of mind-control. And a part of him, after this conversation, actually believed that Loki was willing to turn over a new leaf – yes, there was sarcasm in the 'beloved brother' but still he was wiling to call Thor his brother and he seemingly acknowledged his adopted mother at least. Whatever had happened on Asgard in the past years and during its destruction, it might have changed Loki's mind to a degree. There _was_ a hidden agenda most likely, Tony was not fool enough to believe Loki was going to be an upstanding citizen from hereon out, but what mattered was not some potential perhaps future, it was the here and now.

/break\

Tony frowned as he looked at his phone, outside of the secure facilities holding Loki. A lot of new messages, which figured, but one chat in particular stood out and made him roll his eyes.

_Responsible Adult #3: I hear you owe me child support for the past fifteen years, Tony_

_Tony: Ha, ha, ha. Darcy told you about the misunderstanding, I see_

_Responsible Adult #3: Yes. And it explains SO MUCH!_

_Responsible Adult #3: I'm glad Thor and Bruce Banner are okay though_

_Responsible Adult #3: Still, have Peter home before dinner, regardless of 'heroic Asgardian stories'_

She was what Loki had just reminded him of in there. The protective, dangerous look on his face when it came to his daughter reminded Tony of the look on May's face when she had first cornered him about Peter being Spider-Man. Oh, now that had been a conversation Tony had _not_ enjoyed. There was anger, the obvious question of whether Tony had dragged Peter into this. But after a couple of days, and what Tony assumed to be multiple conversations with Peter alone, May came around again, more calmed down. After all, she knew Peter the best. She knew how stubborn her nephew was, that there was no stopping him. Even if May forbade him from going out, Peter would still sneak around and do it anyway. The most shocking part was when she _thanked_ Tony. For the suit, because the suit actually protected Peter, unlike the onsie he had been wearing before. It floored Tony, really. He had expected more screaming, not for her to think that Tony was protecting Peter. She still wasn't enthusiastic about what Peter was doing, but she was relieved to at least know about it, and that Peter wasn't alone. That at any time, he could rely on the Avengers to back him up.

May Parker loved her nephew and she would do everything to keep him safe, even if in this case it meant to _allow_ him to endanger himself. Because as long as she allowed it, she could be there for him and she would have contact with those helping him and protecting him. If she'd try to forbid it to protect him, then he was going to sneak around behind her back, try to hide injuries from her.

"Did you get the answer you were looking for?", asked Sharon as she joined him.

"I think I did, yes", answered Tony as he pocketed his phone.

"Out of curiosity: What was it?", wanted Sharon to know, side-eyeing him.

"Loki's been playing Thor for centuries. Pretending to be redeemable. I wanted to see... if he really is", elaborated Tony. "If there is any good in him. And... I genuinely believe there is. His love for his daughter is genuine and true and I think that as long as she lives here, he will not cause trouble, because it would put her in harm's way – and that might just be the one thing he doesn't want."

"Mh. Interesting perspective. I'll make a note of that in his file. And you should go get some rest. It was barely after dawn when we left and I know you haven't slept much last night."

"You fuss too much, Shar", chuckled Tony fondly.

/break\

Tony did not head to bed, obviously. That just wasn't who he was. And he was too wired to sleep either. Instead, he went to the shared lab, hopeful that maybe Jane or Hope were already up – Hope had lately been working on modifying the stings to have different settings. He paused surprised at who he found in the lab instead though. Now that was a picture he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Brucie."

Bruce startled and turned around to look at Tony, first surprised and then with a smile. "I went to take a closer look at the lab, after your head of science department made me a... job-offer. And I suppose I got a bit distracted. Your... bots."

He motioned at them, receiving a chirped reply that made Tony smile. "I... I've been spending more and more time here and less in my workshop so it just felt wrong to leave them all alone. And they just _adore_ Jane. I think Dum-E has a crush, you know?"

Tony chuckled, patting Dum-E. Bruce hummed, nodding slowly. Back in the day, the bots always stayed in Tony's private workshop. No one was allowed in there. Things had changed though. This was a different team. And with Jane, Hope and Peter, Tony loved to share the space, in a way he had ever only experienced with Bruce. But then Bruce had left, all of a sudden.

"Why did you leave?", asked Tony slowly as he approached the other scientist. "I know I pushed you too much with Ultron, I pushed and then everything went wrong and I-"

"Tony. Tony, you did not push me", interrupted Bruce seriously. "I'm a grown man, I made the conscious decision to work with you on Ultron. I _still_ believe that our goal was good, what we tried to do was the right thing, even if it went horribly wrong, Tony. I didn't leave because of Ultron."

Bruce paused and sat down on the edge of a table, playing with a pen in his hand and looking down at it; avoiding to look at Tony. "For what it's worth, I didn't mean to leave you alone to clean up the mess we made with Ultron, you know. But it wasn't about that."

"Then what... was it about?", asked Tony, leaning against the table opposite Bruce.

"I don't even think you know, but Natasha, she... betrayed me. I didn't _want_ to release the Hulk, _especially_ not after what Maximoff had done. But Natasha, I had trusted her and she betrayed that trust, she triggered the Hulk because she deemed it the right decision. She didn't just... manipulate me, she _used_ me. She used me and the Hulk like a weapon, to her convenience, not minding my consent or opinion on the matter. Nat was our _teammate_. Our friend. The six of us, the Avengers, we were supposed to be a team, to be able to trust each other."

Tony found himself looking away too. He hated to remember Sokovia. These days, he generally hated to think back on the days of the original Avengers. Steve, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Bruce and Tony. The thought that he had been the _only_ one left standing had hurt too much. Steve, Natasha and Clint and betrayed them and left. Thor and Bruce had just disappeared without a word.

"I couldn't stay. Neither me nor the Hulk", continued Bruce in a soft voice. "The Hulk took over, fully. I was left a backseat driver as the Hulk decided it wasn't worth it to stick around, you know. Thor only recently helped me regain control over my own body. I'm sorry you were left to deal with it all on your own, but at the same time, after everything I heard and read... I'm also not quite sorry that I left. They made _Maximoff_ an Avenger? After _everything_ she did? A wanted _terrorist_ , a willing member of Hydra... That... That Steve, of all people, would allow that... I just can't believe it."

"Neither can I", sighed Tony and leaned back, tilting his head to stare up at the ceiling. "But that was somehow how we started doing things, mh? Rhodey's my best friend so let's make him an Avenger. Wilson helped Steve out once so let's make him an Avenger. Maximoff changed her mind in the last second and decided to help us out, so let's pardon her crimes and make her an Avenger."

Tony paused and shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. "We changed that. You gotta fill out an application, gotta pass a psych evaluation and a physical examination, as well as try-outs. A thorough background screening. And even then, it's put to a vote among the entire team. _Everyone_ has to agree to a new member, otherwise it's not happening."

"That's... good", nodded Bruce. "To think back on how the Avengers first came to be... There was never any sense of regulation to it, was there? We have always been wild cards, held together by circumstances and not by _rules_. How _is_ this... new team? Your team?"

"We got a new captain in charge. Carol. Military, half-alien. Rhodey's long-time crush even though he refuses to admit it. She's doing a hell of a job. Rhodey recovered well after what happened in Germany. Vision is... learning a lot about how to behave like a human, you know? Sharon's the spy I trust. Oh, the work Jane does as head of the science department! The work she, me and Hope do. You'd love it, Bruce. And Darcy, she's been quite brilliant. Honestly, I had _hopes_ that she'd prove to be useful to the Avengers' image, but... she worked _wonders_ there. There's toy-lines and clothes-lines, but all income goes to charities. Makes kids hyped about their heroes and parents approve of the good we do, even with the merch we sell."

"I already heard of that", nodded Bruce amused. "I heard about Doctor Foster and Miss Lewis from Thor already, but I have to admit... the real-deal is quite intense, in both cases."

"They are", laughed Tony – and it was a genuine laugh.

That startled Bruce a little, before it made him smile. "You look... happy. I don't think I've ever actually seen you genuinely happy, Tony. I'm glad for you."

"I...", started Tony with a frown. "I suppose I am... This team is good. We trust each other, know we can rely on each other. And there are legitimate regulations to make sure that no one does their own thing. It's... a good team, Bruce. You should give joining it a thought."

"Really?", asked Bruce, one eyebrow raised. "After leaving, just like that? After... Ultron?"

"Technically, you and Thor never left the team", chuckled Tony. "You'd still have to go through the regulated testing and all though. But in the end, you just said that... you didn't leave to abandon the team, you left because someone on the team stabbed you in the back. And Thor..."

/break\

"I'm truly sorry for the way things between us fell apart."

Jane sighed softly. Honestly, Thor Odinson was an oversized puppy and staying mad at that was just impossible. She pushed her hair behind her ear and decided to sit down next to Thor, after getting them both coffees. They were the only ones in the kitchen and, as far as Jane could seize, the only ones awake this early. She raised both eyebrows and attempted a smile.

"Thor, you were off-world nearly all the time. What we had, it was never truly meant to last. We literally lived in two different world", offered Jane gently, resting a hand on top of Thor's. "It was for the best, for both of us. Had we stayed together, had I spent more and more months waiting for you like a hung-up school-girl, we would have parted in resentment, Thor. And I wouldn't want that. Now, with some distance and perspective... You and I, I want us to be _friends_. I hold no ill feelings toward you, I know whatever you've been doing must have been important."

"It was", nodded Thor solemnly, adding a lot of milk and sugar to his coffee.

"Want to tell me about it?", offered Jane curiously.

"After the Tesseract caused so much harm on Earth, I had hoped it to be an isolated case. But when the Mind Stone came into play, is still here, on the Vision... The Aether, for as valiantly as you wielded it, was also an Infinity Stone. There are six such elements", explained Thor patiently. "That half of them had found their way onto Earth...? I _had_ to investigate, to try and protect Earth. We, the Avengers, are Earth's defenders. Earth's mightiest heroes, yes? And I, I was the only one able to investigate. That... the team would fall apart while I was gone..."

He shook his head, wringing his hands in mild distress. Jane frowned. Six of those stones.

"We will have to talk about this, with the rest of the team", noted Jane gently. "But I think that for now, we have other important things to concentrate, or do you consider it an immediate threat?"

"After all I have dug up? No. I do not think it is immediate", replied Thor, shaking his head.

"Then how about, for now, breakfast and then we go visit your people in the tower?", suggested Jane with a smile. "After, we have to start preparing for Loki's trial."

"Aye. There indeed are more pressing matters to attend to", sighed Thor. "Thank you. For being here. For being an Avenger, you truly are a worthy warrior in your own field."

Jane smiled at that, resting a hand on his shoulder. She never would have pictured herself an Avenger, or the head of the most advanced science department in the US. But apparently Thor was right after all; she truly was a worthy warrior.

/break\

They tried to shield Hela from the media. It was relatively easy, thanks to Shuri, Peter, Ned and Miles. After the truth about Hela's parentage – and the reason why they had kept it hidden – were revealed, Miles was more than eager to help Hela through the hard time. Tony was proud of the kind of friends Peter had made there. And considering Hela didn't know her way around Midgardian technology, it was rather easy to keep her away from the news – and newspapers were also kept away from the mansion for now. The media was tearing into Loki right now. Even though it had become more of a dialogue in the past week since the Asgardians had arrived.

Darcy was feeding the news their side of the story; Thor was more than happy to give interviews, tell a different story about Loki. The trial itself was also going well and doing its part.

The effects of the scepter were well-documented; how it had affected Clint and others while being wielded by Loki, but also how it had affected the Avengers while simply laying in a room.

Tony and Bruce would testify on that too. And them and Thor had the whole New York fiasco to testify on. Thor, he was going to be a key-figure in this trial and Murdock and Nelson were spending a lot of time on prepping Thor. The press tours were going well too, thanks to Darcy.

"This is... most impressive, Doctor Foster, Doctor Stark."

Tony smiled politely. He was leaning in the doorway, just watching. Heimdall stood at the board, studying what they had been doing in the past months. Jane was enthusiastically explaining everything to him. The attempt to rebuild the Bifrost. They had given Heimdall and the other Asgardians time to settle down at first; they had been through a lot after all. But by now, Heimdall seemed to have settled in well. And the thought of bringing an Asgardian scientist in on this, onto the science team of the Avengers, would be something that'd make them look very good.

"We know it's been a long time and that most science behind the things of Asgard are long forgotten, but we had hoped that maybe together, we could make this work", stated Jane, radiating confidence. "No one knows the Bifrost and how it works better than you do."

"I would be honored to help you", replied Heimdall with a nod.

Tony smiled pleased. He so loved it when everything was going smoothly. It was so rare.

/break\

With a skip to his steps did Miles throw his backpack onto his bed before throwing himself right after it. He grinned to himself as he got his phone out to check his texts. They had explained phones to Hela three days ago and she was _obsessed_ with emojis. She signed everything with the princess and the snowflake emoji. It was hella endearing, really. Heh. Hella.

Tilting his head back, Miles shot some webbing onto the ceiling to dangle his phone from it so he could look up at it without having to hold it. He also shot a ball of webbing at his TV to turn it on. He was excitedly following the news on Loki's trial, after all he was now _friends with Loki's daughter_ , which was still very surreal to Miles, if he was being honest.

When his parents had pushed for him to change schools because ever since receiving special funding from Stark Industries, Midtown High was most definitely one of the most renowned science schools, Miles had resented the idea. Leaving his old friends behind, having to start over at a new place where he knew no one.

But then he got partnered up with Ned Leeds and Peter Parker in a group-project and suddenly he had two really awesome super nerdy friends with whom he could not just talk science but also build Lego Death Stars and marathon _The Dark Knight_ trilogy.

When they actually introduced him to the Avengers – the real actual Avengers – he was over the moon. Who would have thought that Peter Parker, of all people, was Tony's intern and had access to the Avengers Mansion and was actually interacting with the real Avengers.

While he saw the dancing dots of Hela typing a reply, he turned his head to look at his nightstand. The grin on his face was from ear to ear. A framed picture stood on his nightstand, a photo of _the_ Colonel James Rhodes, smiling into the camera and having a hand resting on Miles' shoulder. The photo was even signed. He had felt like such a huge dork for asking this, but Colonel Rhodes had looked really happy about it? Right next to the photo stood some of the merch Tony Stark had given him. Which, once again, something _absolutely_ out of this world!

Colonel Rhodes, who insisted Miles should call him Rhodey considering he kept coming around to the house where Colonel Rhodes lived, had told Miles that he had the stuff to be a hero too if he wanted to be. Miles frowned up at the webbing on the ceiling, wondering if he _really_ did.

Suddenly, the news anchor caught Miles' attention. "...while cleared of most charges, Loki Friggason was sentenced to house-arrest under the watch of the Avengers at Avengers Mansion."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riiight so I'm not a law-person so I never actually intended to write the full trial. I figured I have stated the evidence presented often enough at this point that it'd only be repetitive anyway. So, Loki and Tony had their real actual proper interaction with each other! And from hereon out, more will follow! ;) Also, a definite answer to the question whether or not Miles is going to have spider-powers in this. I mean, come ooon, that'd just be teasing, including Miles but not making him a Spider-Man!
> 
> Next chapter, more Loki/Tony moments, talking about "their" kids! Because fatherhood does suit them both so well. What DOES Loki think about the people his daughter is now spending time with...? Stay tuned to find out! ;D


	12. A Father's Love

_Chapter 12: A Father's Love_

The outcome of the trial had been obvious from the get-go. From the witness testimonies to the evidence – video-proof of Loki's blue, mind-controlled eyes, compared to the green he had now, in comparison to Barton's mind-controlled blue back then. Murdock was also surprisingly good, considering he seemed to spend more energy on fighting ninjas than dealing with his cases (Tony had _questions_ about the ninjas, but all Murdock kept saying was that 'he had it handled', whatever that meant). Thor continuously swore that his brother was on the path of redemption and that the good influences of the Avengers would surely send him onto that way.

Tony was a bit doubtful about that, but he was definitely not going to kick the big puppy while he was down already – having lost his planet, his father, his eye, his hair and his hammer. Honestly, Tony kind of wanted to wrap the big guy up in a blanket and give him a hot chocolate. Instead, he gave Thor a new eye and a new hammer, with a little help from Princess Shuri.

"This is most generous of you", whispered Thor, voice unusually low and soft.

He looked around in wonder, adjusting to the new eye. Obviously, Tony had given it some upgrades to allow Thor a screen-vision like Tony had inside his suit, if he wished to. Scanning, recording, night-vision. Just some things that might come in handy. Thor turned his hand in awe, looking at it.

"It seems to have connected well", noted Jane pleased. "Helen did great."

"Truly. I will visit Lady Helen with flowers and chocolate to thank her in person", agreed Thor.

Helen had come back for one surgery to connect the eye with the right nerves. The Avengers had happily done some babysitting. Darcy had posted _a lot_ of adorable pictures of little Amadeus Cho riding on Vision's shoulders and staring in awe at pixie-sized Hope, making her look like a fairy godmother. In the end, all had gone rather well apparently.

"Now, don't overdo it, you're still supposed to recover from surgery", warned Shuri.

"You can't hand him a new toy and tell him not to play with it", laughed Darcy teasingly.

"The hammer works as a catalyst for electricity, so it should be able to channel your powers", started Tony, taking the eager-eyed look Thor was throwing at the new hammer as his cue.

"It's made from Vibranium to hold your Asgardian magic", added Shuri, amused by Thor's eagerness. "Here's a wrist-band that's connected to the hammer. I hear you're fond of your old hammer returning to you; press this button and the hammer will return to you."

"Wonderful!", exclaimed Thor excitedly, running careful fingers along his new hammer. "She is truly a beauty. And I thank you for this amazing gift, my friends."

Tony smiled. He had missed this, a lot. Him making tech for the old team had become something _expected_. With the new team, it was all more regulated. Actual orders, officially filed, Stark Industries being _paid_ for it. Mainly because he was so tired of just being _expected_ to upgrade everything and provide all of the tech, on top of working for Stark Industries and being an Avenger. This bright-eyed, genuine gratitude on Thor's face though, Tony had _missed_ that. Missed making something for someone and them appreciating it.

"Now, if you'd excuse me. Our... newest house-guest arrives today and I'd love to welcome him in person", stated Tony and straightened his tie. "You want to come too, Air Bud?"

Thor frowned confused and tilted his head as he heard Darcy laugh. At Jane's head-shake, he got up to follow Tony out. Today, Loki was being handed over to the Avengers' custody. The council, understandably, didn't trust Loki, but since these were unheard of circumstances – an alien on trial, yet having been mind-controlled by _another_ alien – this was what they had agreed upon. Carol Danvers was the most fit person on this planet to keep Loki in line.

"Father! Father, I am so glad to see you again!"

Of course was Hela faster than any of the adults. The agents who had brought Loki here stepped aside startled as a teenager suddenly tackled Loki in a hug. Loki wrapped his arms around his daughter and whirled her around once. Tony tilted his head curiously as he watched them. The look on Loki's face was the most genuine expression Tony had seen on it so far. For a moment, Tony was just left staring in stunned silence. Loki looked good with a real smile on his lips.

/break\

Loki walked the room with sharp eyes, one arm behind his back, the other trailing a curious finger along the wall as he inspected every nook and cranny. It was spacious, compared to the ship at least. In green and golden colors and something told Loki that this was not a coincident.

"-and I know you were all over the news, even though uncle Thor and the others tried to keep it from me. They didn't want to worry me, which was really sweet, but also a bit annoying. Just because I look like an Earth teenager does not mean I actually _am_ one. They do seem to forget an Asgardian's life-span and the fact that I am a queen."

Loki smiled bemused and tilted his head. "And you are greatly enjoying that, are you not?"

"I lo—ove it", yelped Hela delighted, falling back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. "It's... I was never a teenager with teenage friends and a 'you have to be home by ten!' kind of deadline thingy? Which they do! It was fun. When Peter, Miles and Ned came to pick me and Shuri up three days ago, Tony looked at them all seriously and told them to have us back at ten or the boys would be in trouble. I think he was joking, but the looks on the boys' faces were priceless."

"Tony...", echoed Loki wondrously.

"He told me to call him Tony", replied Hela thoughtfully. "He has been very kind to me, father. Letting me stay in his home, having his son show me around and protect me. I know that's what they're doing, even though I do not need protection. Darcy has taken me clothes-shopping to make sure I fit in better. It was a lot of fun! Human fashion is... interesting."

Loki raised one eyebrow as he looked at his daughter in the purple flower-patterned dress. Her hair was in a thick braid, decorated with flowers and on her wrist she had a curious bracelet, black pearls. From what Loki had seen, this was a communications device of sorts – the mischievous one had made it. Loki liked her. She was far more brilliant than the average humans and she seemed to care deeply for Hela. (Of course had Loki spied on what was happening here in the past week of Loki's imprisonment; there had not been much else to do and he had to make sure his daughter would be safe and not used to blackmail Loki.)

"You wish to stay here?", asked Loki with a frown, looking around.

"Please, father", nodded Hela tentatively. "I know you... probably wanted to just leave again, as soon as the opportunity arises, but... I like it here. I like these people. I made _friends_. I want to try to go to this... high school that they speak of. It sounds like a lot of fun."

The frown on Loki's face deepened at that. His plan had indeed been to leave with Hela as soon as possible. Live somewhere in hiding with a little glamour, cause a bit of mischief every now and again. Though now... And he had to admit, Thor had grown on him lately too, surprisingly so.

"I suppose, we could stay a while", offered Loki. "It could be... interesting, to get an insight into these Avengers. Very well, let us stay here. But if _any_ human insults or harms you in any way, I-"

"-Will do nothing because you are on probation and you've been imprisoned before and you are _not_ going to do that to me again, father", interrupted Hela with a cheerful smile and a sharp note.

Loki raised one eyebrow in amusement at that. Truly, she was his daughter.

/break\

Thor was laughing loudly as he threw his new hammer – Donar. He was currently sparring with the mighty captain. Captain Carol Danvers. She had impressive powers. And she seemed to be having as much fun in this sparring match as Thor.

There had been a lot to get caught up on in the past nearly week since they had arrived on Earth. The split of the Avengers was truly a lot to take in. Him and Bruce watched all the footage and read all of the news – and were also reading the Accords. Thor knew he himself had done wrong in the past, had acted irrationally, but his punishment – his banishment to Earth back then – had truly taught him a lesson. There were lines not to be crossed and there needed to be a punishment. It was what had shaped Thor into a protector, into an Avenger. And he had somehow expected there to be regulations for the Avengers too. That there hadn't been any...?

Sif was mainly taking responsibility over the Asgardians for now, even though Thor visited them daily. But for now, his focus had to be to get acclimated to Earth again; to learn what had happened while he had been gone. He was the link between the Asgardians and Earth, so he had to be up to speed on everything. They needed allies here and the Avengers were those allies.

Thor was more than proud to see Jane and Darcy among the Avengers and he had been pleased to meet Carol, Hope and Sharon for the first time, as well as Hela's young friends. This seemed to be a very good team – and Hela had found a good team of her own.

"A deserved victory, captain", laughed Thor as he found himself pinned.

"You still gotta get used to the new eye. Your aim is off one outta five times", noted Carol, before cracking a smile. "Love the powers though. And your grip on your new hammer is impressive."

"You are quite impressive yourself, captain", replied Thor as Carol helped him up.

"Wo—oah there, soldier, watch out!", yelped Hope not far away from them. "Time for a break."

She dodged Rhodey and gave him a curious look. The colonel just glared. Not at her though. Tilting her head, Hope followed his line of sight to see Thor laughing loudly and wrapping a friendly arm around Carol's shoulders. Rhodey was grumbling to himself as he took a long drink from his bottle. Hope grinned amused as she watched Thor and Carol head back inside to toast to their strength.

"Are you... _jealous_ of Thor?", asked Hope and sat down next to Rhodey.

"What?", grunted Rhodey, making a face. "What's there to be jealous of? Big hunk of alien beef who can fly and has lightning powers. Pf. Nothing special. Certainly not the chiseled abs."

Hope laughed and shook her head. "Oh, you are _so_ jealous, Rhodes."

The look on Rhodey's face resembled a pout, making Hope laugh even more. "He's a _god_. And you weren't on a team with him before, Hope. I remember the parties we had at the tower, me and my stories never lived up to the grand tales of the Asgardian _prince_. Everyone fawned over him, because he's Thor. Even when it's not about his good looks and adventures, you've spent the past week with the guy too. He's a genuinely nice and generous dude."

Hope paused and raised both her eyebrows before resting a hand on Rhodey's. "So are you. You're a hero and a good guy. Not to mention, you and Carol have a bond, a past. You have been fighting side by side for years. Pretty boy swooping in isn't gonna change that, James."

For a moment, Rhodey paused before offering her a smile. "Thanks, Hope."

"You'll just have to _finally_ man up and tell _her_ how you feel", continued Hope, a judgmental look on her face. "Carol's a great gal. She's strong, confident, gorgeous and thanks to joining the Avengers, she's on the radar of the whole world by now. Thor might not have swooped her off her feet in one go, but Carol's amazing and she's single and she won't stay single forever. Don't be that guy, James Rhodes. The guy who pines from the sidelines until his chance passed and who'll then spend the rest of his life contemplating the what-ifs. That's not worth it."

At that, all Rhodey could do was gape at her. Offering him a last smile, Hope got up to leave the gym and maybe join Thor and Carol for that beer. Now that sounded good.

/break\

Bruce sighed and put down his glasses to rub his eyes. The Accords were a heavy read; a large document that was also very impactful. But those who wanted to join the Avengers needed to sign them. Even though Bruce was not fully sure if he wanted to rejoin the Avengers. He was kind of... _tired_. So very, very tired of fighting. Tony had made him a counter proposal at that; to be a stand-by Avenger. They had two of those, apparently. Spider-Man and Black Panther. Between them and the Wasp, Bruce felt like animal-themes were really popular these days. They were not _official_ Avengers, but if-need-be Avengers. If the world ended, they'd be there. But regular, smaller-scale missions? That was what the main roster of the Avengers dealt with. An incident like the New York invasion would call upon them, but something like say taking out Hydra-bases was handled by the main Avengers. Bruce kind of liked that idea. He had been something like that for a while anyway. Only if need be, but nowadays the Avengers had more members, stronger members than before.

"Time for a tea-break", mused Bruce as he looked into his empty mug.

Putting the Accords aside, Bruce got out of his bed to head to the communal kitchen. He had a kitchenette in his own suite, but if there was one thing he had learned during their journey to Earth, it was to _socialize_. Confined space shared for too long. He had constantly been around Thor, Sif, Heimdall, Hilde, Loki and others. And somehow, he had grown oddly fond of it.

Jane Foster greeted him in the kitchen. "Also a night-owl, Doctor Banner?"

"I was so sucked into reading, I forgot the time", admitted Bruce. "What about you?"

"We seem to be chasing our first real lead on how to fix the Bifrost and it's... so hard to stop working on it", sighed Jane and ran her hands through her hair. "Ever since Heimdall arrived and could give us input, things have been moving considerably faster."

Bruce hummed in acknowledgment and went about brewing his tea before sitting down next to Jane. The view from the kitchen was absolutely amazing. Central Park. It figured that Tony would always only get the best of the best; that was just who Tony Stark was.

"It's part of the deal, isn't it? Why the government allowed the Asgardians to land and stay."

"Of course it is", sighed Jane. "You did not think they'd do this out of the goodness of their hearts? The technological gain from accepting alien refugees here was what pushed them over in the end."

"And you're okay with that?", questioned Bruce with a frown.

"The technology will happen, sooner or later, anyway. And if it happens faster now, with the help of the Asgardians, we will be able to use it to defend our planet. I'm not disillusioned, Doctor Banner. I know it will fall into the wrong hands and be used for the wrong purposes, but... what isn't?", inquired Jane, looking Bruce dead in the eye. "Every great invention mankind has ever made has been turned against it. That is human nature. You make a knife to cut food and it will end in the rib-cage of a person instead. But the fact that bad people will use technology against others should not stop us from further evolving as a species. And if this deal guarantees the safety of three-hundred innocent Asgardians, defenseless, children too, then... I can't find it in myself to disagree with it."

The look on her face was so genuine and open that it startled Bruce for a moment. He knew she was right. Anything that was meant to be _useful_ would somehow be used as a weapon by people and that truly should not stop progress. And Bruce knew that the Bifrost had far more harmless but infinitely useful and defensive purposes. Bruce had seen it, during the destruction of Asgard, that a quick escape could mean life for many innocent and defenseless individuals.

"If you do not mind, I would like to join you in the lab tomorrow. ...Later today."

"That would be wonderful, Doctor Banner", smiled Jane brightly.

"Please, call me Bruce. There's no need to be so formal. We are... living together, after all."

"That we are", chuckled Jane and tilted her head, holding a hand out. "Jane, then."

"It will be my pleasure working with you, Jane", stated Bruce as he shook the offered hand.

"Likewise, Bruce. I'm looking forward to it."

/break\

From the balcony just outside the kitchen, one could overlook not just the large park beyond but also the backyard of the the mansion. Said backyard was where Hela was currently playing with her friends. A game they called 'soccer'. Shuri and Hela against Miles and Peter, while Ned played the referee. Loki had memorized their names. Shuri, the princess from some isolated but highly advanced country. Peter, the son of Tony Stark with super-strength and other quirks. The Ned boy seemed to be just a regular human, apparently. But Miles? Humans with superpowers had a certain aura to themselves, though it spiked differently for different powers. Miles' had a very similar gleam to that of Peter. Loki made a mental note to bring it to his daughter's attention, though he did not doubt that she had realized it herself already. The issue was: No one else seemed to. That the others were aware of Peter's extraordinaire abilities was something Hela had already told him.

"Dad Loki, now that was something I never expected to see."

Loki didn't bother turning around as Stark walked up to him. It figured that sooner or later, he would be cornered by Stark. This was his home, after all. And from everyone living here, Stark and Thor's female companions were the only ones who had personal history with Loki.

"Congratulations on your release", stated Stark and put a glass down in front of Loki. "I think I owe you a drink and I am a man of my word."

"It's rather early for drinking, is it not?", wondered Loki.

Various members of the Avengers had gathered inside for breakfast, which was the main reason Loki had fled onto the balcony. If Thor alone was hard to endure in the mornings, Thor and the blonde captain arm-wrestling while two different brunette women cheered them on was absolutely not a thing Loki could endure without a... Ah. A drink. Chuckling to himself, he took the glass.

"I figured you might need it, after everything", offered Tony.

"Why did you do this? Take her in", asked Loki lowly. "Your enemy's child. You had no obligation to be welcoming toward her neither when she arrived with the message, nor during my trial."

"She's a kid", was all Stark said.

"That is not much of an answer, Stark", grunted Loki dissatisfied.

"She's an innocent kid. Children are not to be blamed for whatever their parents did wrong", elaborated Tony, his eyes down on the five teenagers too. "That's... not a burden she should have to carry and whatever my opinion on you, she loves you. Truly loves you. Whatever you might have done to humans and others, you surely must be quite the good dad for her. She looks up to you and loves you, she didn't deserve to suffer alone while waiting for you. The least I could do was make it comfortable for her and make sure she will be alright."

"You truly think that?", mused Loki. "That we are not to be blamed for our parents' mistakes?"

"This about your misplaced anger toward Thor?", inquired Tony curiously. "The big guy's never done anything but love you, yet you _really_ hated him. Not so sure... about the now. But you used to truly hate him. Not exactly for anything he had done but for what his father had done, mh?"

"Do not analyze me, Stark", warned Loki. "Two can play that game. Do not think I am not aware of your history. I spent time on this planet before the invasion on New York and I gathered intel on those who could pose potential threats to me. That included you, the Merchant of Death. The heir to a great family of weapon-makers. A man riddled with guilt for exactly that."

"Fair enough", hummed Tony humorlessly. "Guess we share the daddy-issues, huh?"

"Daddy-issues", echoed Loki and made a face.

"Yeah. You know, having an absent or negligent father and suffering the consequences of it", explained Tony, waving a hand dismissively. "Guess you learned from it and made sure your own kid never felt that way, mh?"

"The same can then be said about you too", countered Loki once more.

"Right. That misunderstanding", grunted Tony and made a face. "Peter? Not my kid. Not entirely sure where your daughter got that notion from, but Peter _Parker_ is not my son."

There was a stretch of silence as Loki looked at Tony. He emptied his drink.

"And yet you hold a father's love for the boy", stated Loki casually, amusement in his eyes.

"He's a... He's a good kid and I'm looking out for him", grunted Tony defensively.

"Is that not what a father should do? Genuinely wondering, do not have much experience with those kind of things", drawled Loki, a certain mockery to his tone.

Tony grumbled, making Loki laugh a little. "Very well. I suppose I am trying to offer Petey something I did not have."

"Now that we are done with the pleasantries, enlighten me on the terms of my confinement."

Tony raised one eyebrow at that, though he found it mildly amusing too. "Direct. I like it. The mansion is under constant surveillance from FRIDAY. My AI. If you step outta line, do something fishy, try to escape – she will alert us. No teleporting possible in here; I had a wizard-friend come over and magic-proof the place. You might have met him, goes by the name Doctor Strange."

"That oaf", growled Loki displeased.

"That's the one", nodded Tony with a bright smile. "Now, no magic. No leaving. You are, however, free to walk around the mansion as it pleases you. Including the backyard. But if you go beyond the fence, well, you will regret it. You're literally living with Earth's mightiest, you know."

"Yes, yes, 'Hulk smash'", muttered Loki disinterested. "What about Hela?"

"Oh, she's not on house-arrest", replied Tony.

"No. She expressed interest in visiting a... high school", drawled Loki with disgust in his voice. "I'd much prefer she would not mingle with all these... mortal teenagers, yet here we are."

"Ah. Interesting. She didn't say so to me yet, but that could be arranged", nodded Tony. "And much preferred too. The other Asgardians are kind of expected to... start and integrate into our society."

"That sounds like quite the delight to watch", chuckled Loki mischievously.

"No", huffed Tony, waving both hands around. "No, this will go absolutely smoothly-"

"No, it won't", interrupted Loki dryly. "You have met Thor, yes? And Jane Foster can testify to his best buddies, the Warriors Three. Expect more of that."

Tony faltered a little and sighed. So far, they were teaching the Asgardians about human, and more specifically American, society and social norms to avoid the roughest of misunderstandings, yet Tony knew that literal aliens would not just be accepted and that any little misstep would be interpreted as a deliberate offense. Tony dreaded those future complications, but for now he very distinctively tried to concentrate on the _now_ and the _here_. Which was, on a balcony with Loki. Not exactly a thing he would have ever expected either, to be quite frank.

"Whatever happened to the rest of your team?", inquired Loki after a moment. "You have gained new allies, as was to be expected. Yet there seem to be... key-members missing. They did not testify in my trial either – not in support but also not against me."

"The world's not as black and white as we'd all like it to be", replied Tony with a sigh. "The good guys are not always wearing their shining, silver armor. The bad guys, it turns out, are not always just the... horned evil-doers either."

Loki raised an intrigued eyebrow. Betrayal among the Avengers? Now that sounded _very_ interesting and surely like something that might occupy his boring days of house-arrest until he found a way around his invisible warden – the Lady FRIDAY in the walls – and his very visible wardens – especially the Vision seemed to loom close by with threatening looks, curiously enough, though Loki had received warning looks from about every single one of the Avengers and a slap in the face from a highly irritated Jane Foster, which was earned, he supposed. Between the outfall of the Avengers and the peculiarity of Peter and Miles, Loki would be plenty busy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thor gets a new hammer and a new eye because Thor deserves nice things! Also I love the idea of a Thor-Carol friendship, apparently! And Loki finally got to catch in on that drink Tony offered him in the first Avengers movie. Better late than never. Now, next chapter they're going to have to make some important decisions.


	13. All New, Some Old Avengers

_Chapter 13: All New, Some Old Avengers_

T'Challa smiled as he hugged his sister. Despite what he told James and everyone listening about how much he enjoyed the break from his sister's nagging and teasing, he still loved Shuri deeply and he did miss her. Looking at her now, he knew it had been the right decision to send her to New York though. She seemed happier than T'Challa had seen her in a long time. Yes, her inventions made her happy, but she had never truly made friends her own age.

"Your, uh, royal highness, Mister Panther sir, uh, king."

The smile on his lips turned into one of bemusement as he saw the three teenage boys struggling with how to greet him and attempting to bow respectfully. How _truly_ adorable. Shuri sighed, looking mildly embarrassed on behalf of the boys and instead pulling the only girl closer.

"This is Hela. And those three are Peter, Miles and Ned. Don't mind them, brother."

"Queen Hela, I believe?", asked T'Challa curiously, bowing his head a little.

"King T'Challa", countered Hela with a smile. "It's an honor to meet you. Your sister is wonderful!"

Shuri looked nearly flustered at that, though she directed her attention toward the three boys to chide them and make them act like they normally would. Though Hela, well, she was part of the reason he was here, in a way. T'Challa had to admit, he was curious to meet the alien refugees himself. He had never met an alien before and his curiosity got the best of him.

Tony had caught on with T'Challa's not so subtle curiosity during their last conversation and part of T'Challa liked to believe that it was the reason he had been invited over. Though mainly, he was here as an Avenger – even if he was only on the reserve-list, he was still an Avenger and he would have a vote on the two newest members to the team.

T'Challa was a little startled when something poked him. As he looked, he saw the small spider robot that Shuri had already proudly shown off in a video-chat before. It was quite adorable.

"Children, don't harass the king. Go play in the garden or something. Big kitten! A light lunch is waiting for you, I figured you might be hungry. And then you can get settled in first before we have to do anything", announced Tony as he walked up to them. "You'll be staying a few days, right?"

"You _did_ time it rather well with the Accords meeting on the Asgardians. I appreciate that", hummed T'Challa. "And I would appreciate the meal too."

"Come along then. I got you fish. Cats like fish, right?", teased Tony.

He shooed the teens with one hand and rested the other on T'Challa's back, guiding him toward the communal kitchen. Thor, Carol, Rhodey and Darcy were already setting the table, seemingly in some kind of important conversation, until they noticed the new arrival. Thor smiled, broadly and brightly, as he got up and approached T'Challa. Before T'Challa had a chance to initiate any kind of greeting, he was pulled into a nearly bone-crushing hug by the blonde.

"I have seen the battle you joined in the name of the Avengers. You fought valiantly. You are a worthy warrior for this team and I am looking forward to the battles to come that we might share."

"I... Thank you", was all T'Challa could muster.

Thor laughed joyfully and clapped him on the back in a manner that nearly made T'Challa tumble before he found his footing again. T'Challa smiled as he found himself easily welcomed by them and accepted into their midst like he was simply one of them. Which he was, in a way, but not to the same extend now, was he? It was nice how they made an effort to include him in their conversation, also bringing him up to speed on the Asgardians and on what Shuri had been up to here.

/break\

"Want some popcorn to enjoy the show, Lokes?"

Loki raised both eyebrows in disdain at the nickname, though he accepted the food Tony offered him. He had mainly been hiding out in his suite for the past few days since his arrival here. Today however, the Lady Friday had informed him that he would enjoy the show at the training facilities.

"Why is it that you have called me here, Stark?", asked Loki suspiciously.

"Well, I figured however much your relationship with Thor has improved, you're probably going to appreciate watching Thor get his ass handed to him", stated Tony mischievously.

"...Against this... woman?", grunted Loki doubtfully, staring out the observation window.

"Says the guy who regularly got his ass handed by a woman", muttered Valkyrie.

"Oh, even before you came around", tagged Sif on pointedly.

"What are _they_ doing here?", asked Loki next, eyeing the two Asgardian women.

"You're not the only one I thought would appreciate the show", shrugged Tony. "They've been working so hard lately, and it's really time Sif and Hilde get to know the Avengers too."

Sif stood back with Jane and Darcy, smirking over at Loki in a manner that promised pain if Loki said or did the wrong thing. Hilde all the while was leaning against the opposing wall with Hope and Sharon. The ones ready to test Bruce and Thor were Carol, Rhodey and Vision.

Next to Loki sat Tony, on whose other side was T'Challa and the last on the couch was Spider-Man.

"And they're really fine with this?", asked Spider-Man. "I mean, they were already part of the team before and now they gotta prove themselves all over again to... basically, a bunch of strangers?"

"Brucie is not the biggest fan of bringing the Hulk out on command. But they both understand it, they understand that Rhodey, me and Vision went through physical examinations and tests too, despite us being the foundation of these new Avengers", replied Tony. "Besides, Thor enjoys showing off and this is a chance for both him and Carol to let loose more than in training."

"I have to admit, I'm very interested in seeing this display", admitted T'Challa, eagerly leaning forward. "I've heard of Thor's power, seen it in the news but... like this?"

"Your sister is right. You are a nerd", snorted Tony amused, nudging T'Challa.

The Hulk knew what depended on this and seemed cooperative when Bruce called on him. And Bruce knew that, as a back-up Avenger, he wouldn't have to call on the Hulk much. By far not as often as he used to back in the day. Bruce also knew he couldn't cower, he couldn't say no and just keep the Hulk locked away. When there was danger, they needed to help. (Not to mention that being an Avenger, signing the revised Accords, would keep Ross off his back.)

"Your sister's been studying us", stated Tony casually as they watched War Machine go against the Hulk. "Working on defense mechanisms that would be effective even against the powers of the Avengers. She's _good_. I mean, mind-blowingly good. That brain of hers..."

"I think it is doing her good to be staying with you", mused T'Challa. "There is not much that can challenge her anymore in Wakanda. Living here, with you and your team of superhero scientists... and with the alien technology at that, she is _thriving_ here. Thank you, for this chance."

"Oh, don't thank me for gathering geniuses. It is purely selfish of me", laughed Tony delighted.

Loki frowned thoughtfully as he watched their exchange. Tony Stark was a very curious creature. He took in all of those people – not just Loki and his daughter, all of the Avengers were living at his place. He offered resources to them. And he did not seem to expect anything in return.

The roaring of the Hulk interrupted Loki's musing. War Machine laid defeated and the Hulk stood tall and proud. Slowly, he changed back to Bruce Banner and the two of them quickly left the open training field to get checked at medical. Time for Thor's performance.

Earlier doubts about the short blonde woman vanished when she started glowing and _attacking_. Loki laughed delighted, eating the small treats that Stark had offered him, as he watched Thor get pummeled by the captain. Yes, Thor was a formidable fighter and he was powerful – but quite clearly, Carol Danvers was more powerful. And it was _delightful_ to watch for Loki.

"This is nearly worth the house-arrest", declared Loki as Carol punched Thor squared in the jaw.

"I thought you might like it", chuckled Tony knowingly.

/break\

"Still sorry for the black eye, Thor."

"Nonsense, captain!", argued Thor with a hollering laughter, slapping her on the back. "It is truly an honor to fight against you and it will be an honor to fight at your side."

Carol smiled as they toasted each other with the largest jugs of mead. Her smile grew even more as she was suddenly flanked from either side by more Asgardians. Sif and Hilde. Apparently, they had been more than just impressed by her defeat of their king.

"What's it gonna take to make you two join the team?", asked Carol with a sly grin. "You'd make fine additions to the Avengers. We can always use more strong women."

"Mh, getting to fight again...", mused Sif as she leaned back against the table. "I have to admit, I did miss it. Being holed up in that tower, with all the Asgardians, it's not... for me."

"And we _are_ supposed to, what's it called, integrate into your society", grunted Hilde, drinking her orange juice and making a face at it. "Two more of us joining this alliance, this defense force, it's gonna look good, from a political angle, won't it?"

"It definitely would", agreed Rhodey next to Thor. "But you just lost a lot and only recently arrived. Get settled in first and maybe... keep tabs on _what_ the Avengers even do on the regular."

All of them were gathered in the dining hall, Tony had ordered enough food to feed an army. A banquet, to celebrate the newest, oldest additions to the Avengers. Of course did no one have objections to Thor and Bruce joining in and even inviting T'Challa along had really been more a formality and to allow T'Challa to meet the Asgardians himself.

"That's fair", nodded Valkyrie, taking another sip of her juice.

"Seriously, why don't you just drink something else?", snorted Hope amused.

"It's less the juice itself and more the fact that it is not mead", muttered Hilde beneath her breath. "But I am taking my sobriety seriously. So I'm drinking... this instead."

"I respect that", nodded Hope impressed, raising her eyebrows.

"She's only doing that to get laid", interjected Bruce with a huff as he joined them at the table. "It was one of Sif's conditions to dating. Don't glare, you know I'm right, Hilde."

Brunhilde glared, making her look far more like the fearsome Valkyrie that Thor had talked of. It made Hope grin a little in amusement before her eyes shifted over to Sif, who looked rather pleased with herself at that. Now if this wasn't interesting...

"How long are you going to stick around, King T'Challa?", asked Sharon politely.

"A few days only. The conference is coming up and afterward, I'll go again", replied T'Challa. "Though I have to admit, it will be a nice opportunity to... get to know the team during this time."

"And we're looking forward to get to know you better... beyond Wakandan memes", stated Darcy with a cheerful smile. "Shuri's been sharing a lot of those."

"I'm sure she is", sighed T'Challa a little embarrassed.

The others laughed at that and conversation slipped into talking about the teenagers who were currently off having their own little party. It was nice to hear them all praise Shuri like that, speak so highly and fondly of her. When the topic shifted again, T'Challa slipped away. He spotted Tony alone outside on the balcony. Everyone else was drinking and eating inside, laughing and talking loudly (louder the more alcohol was being consumed).

"Tony", called T'Challa out as he approached, as to not startle the other man.

"Enjoyed the show this afternoon?", inquired Tony with an amused smile.

Though he didn't turn toward T'Challa, he was just... staring up at the night sky. Like the stars held all the answers to everything in the world. T'Challa heaved a sigh at that. Still, even with all of the help and the team around him, Tony still seemed to try and find all solutions on his own.

"What do you want to talk about, T'Challa?", inquired Tony after a long beat.

"How are you dealing with your... special house-guest?", wanted T'Challa to know.

"The mischief maker seems to be behaving himself so far", replied Tony with a casual shrug.

"And you... trust the peace?", asked T'Challa wearily.

"Oh, don't think me a fool, king kitty-cat", huffed Tony mildly offended and shook his head. "There's a magic border around the mansion. And a magic border around that magic border. And a fail-safe around _that_. There are check-points at various distances from the mansion, just in case he somehow gets around the first three. And I have a Super Sorcerer on speed-dial. Don't think I'm taking this lighthearted just because I'm having a little... fun with all of this."

T'Challa hummed at that, nodding slowly. "My apologies."

"Not necessary. I'm used to people thinking I treat everything as a joke just because I find humor in any situation", shrugged Tony amused. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I think I'll call it an early night. It's going to be an interesting day tomorrow, because we're expecting a... visitor."

T'Challa frowned at the mischievous smile on Tony's lips. Something told him that tomorrow, he was going to be the butt of whatever humor Tony found in the situation.

/break\

Shuri made a delighted noise as she filmed her brother freeze up the moment their visitor arrived. She was totally going to send this one to Okoye and M'Baku. This was high-quality entertainment.

"King T'Challa. An unexpected man to find here. It is so nice to see you again."

"...Likewise, Professor Munroe", replied T'Challa once he unfroze again.

Ororo smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear before shaking hands with the king. Shuri giggled to herself. Amazing. She had never seen T'Challa freeze that hard. Once she ended her little video, she turned enough to high-five with an equally grinning Tony.

"You were right, this was very entertaining", stated Shuri delighted. "Thank you."

Tony just chuckled and shook his head before approaching T'Challa and Ororo. "Ororo has offered us her own opinion on the Bifrost and perhaps a different... perspective for it."

"May I ask, how will you be of assistance, Lady Ororo?", inquired Thor curiously, looming over Tony from behind. "Are you as well-versed in these science as Lady Jane?"

"Not entirely my field of expertise. But... you and I share certain... qualities", stated Ororo.

There was a spark of mischief in her eyes as she summoned a small thunder cloud. Thor made a very joyful noise at that, tentatively reaching out to touch the small cloud and laughing loudly as tiny lightning erupted from the pillow-sized cloud.

"Are you of Asgardian descent?", wanted T'Challa to know, a little startled.

"I'm human. I'm a mutant. I have the x-gene that allows us certain... special powers. As the Maximoff twins had", offered Ororo in explanation. "My powers are connected to the weather, in a slightly broader way than Thor's thunder and lighting. Perhaps, due to its rainbow-nature, I might have a different kind of understanding of the Bifrost. Or so Tony hopes."

"Heimdall, Jane, Bruce and Hope are already waiting for us in the lab. Come along, scientists", declared Tony, ushering Ororo and Shuri along. "You're more than welcome to tag along too."

Thor looked very excited as he followed them suit. He had never met someone else who could control the weather like himself and he was launching a hundred questions at Ororo, who seemed very amused by the enthusiasm and happy to engage Thor. T'Challa frowned as he watched them go. He wished he would have as easy a time talking to a beautiful woman like that.

"So Thor Odinson snatched the attention of the woman you like away from you. Would you like to open a club with me?", drawled Rhodey as he approached the king.

"I do not know what you mean, but I'd gladly join you for a drink", sighed T'Challa.

Rhodey chuckled as he clapped T'Challa on the back and led him toward the kitchen.

/break\

Loki tilted his head amused as he leaned back in his chair. He had been spending a lot of his time on the internet ever since his house-arrest started about a week ago. It was handy; all the knowledge of the world in this small box. No need to browse the library, to comb through old tomes and yet still not find what one was looking for. It had kept him busy enough for days. There was so much history to catch up on, so many developments – the most interesting ones, of course, about the people he now had to share a house with. Sharon Carter, niece to a Margaret Carter, a founding member of the SHIELD that had once captured Loki. Colonel James Rhodes, who had known Tony Stark since MIT and been at his side since then; unwavering loyalty. Captain Carol Danvers, who had seemingly disappeared for six years in the nineties of the last century and then returned with alien-powers. Hope van Dyne, daughter of a great scientist by the name Hank Pym, apparently much like Loki she seemed to prefer her mother's name over her father's. Despite a long rivalry between Pym and Stark senior, Hope had found her way toward the side of Tony Stark.

And then there were the ones not present. The _former_ Avengers.

It was harder getting current information on them. Oh, Loki had found everything about the incidents in Sokovia, Johannesburg and Stuttgart. The Sokovia Accords. The disagreement between Captain America and Iron Man – in media treated like an ugly divorce where one got the children and the other got to keep the house. Wanted criminals. Fugitives from the law.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen", mused Loki.

And truly, the self-righteous captain was on the run, _hiding from the law_ , while Loki was here, dutifully sitting through his punishment after facing a court and accepting the judgment placed upon him. What a curious turn of events, truly.

"Mister Friggason, Hela asks if you wish to join her for lunch on the balcony."

"Ah. Tell my daughter I will be right there. Thank you, Lady Friday."

Friday made a pleased noise at that. Loki had to admit, he had grown rather fond of the voice in the walls. She was very helpful and polite. And she was simply such a curious creature. A sentient being, created through science. Not like the Vision, with the aid of an Infinity Stone, but _purely_ through the mind of Tony Stark. What a frighteningly powerful mind that was.

/break\

Hela smiled pleasantly as she handed her father a sandwich. Even though he returned her smile, he looked doubtful at the sandwich. Lifting one piece of bread up, he checked beneath.

"...What... is that, Hela?", asked Loki reluctantly.

"It is called a PB&J. Miles taught me how to make it!", declared Hela rather proudly. "I have never made a meal before. I always had servants for that. I made us this meal, father."

Well, now Loki had to eat it. He sat down opposite her and bit into the sandwich, just to make a face. Whatever that was, it did not belong on bread. Or in Loki's mouth. He still forced a smile for his daughter though, because she looked far too proud at her accomplishment.

"Speaking of your friend Miles...", drawled Loki. "There is something I wished to talk about."

"You're not going to threaten my friends, right?", asked Hela unsure.

"I told you I'll be reserving the right to. But this isn't about that", grunted Loki and shook his head. "You are far more versed in the reading of a person's aura than I am, so I'm sure you yourself have already noticed that Miles is unlike your other friends. Unlike them all, aside from Peter."

"Oh. That. Yes", nodded Hela with a smile. "I'm sure it's fine."

"How so?", asked Loki curiously.

"Well, I think it's part of their culture?", offered Hela thoughtfully. "It took Peter some to tell me about being Spider-Man. He still hasn't told Miles. And Miles hasn't told Peter. Humans aren't like us Asgardians. Having powers is apparently... very special to them and the norm is to... hide it from strangers. Being entrusted with this knowledge seems to be like a rite of passage for humans."

"Interesting", hummed Loki. "That means you and me are the only ones to know about the boy's secret and he does not know about Peter's secret. This could be... entertaining."

"Please don't play with my friends, father", requested Hela with a chiding look.

"Oh, just... observing", assured Loki with a not very reassuring smile.

/break\

Steve gritted his teeth and shook his head. How was this _possible_? Loki, _Loki_ , was living at the Avengers compound – no, not even that, the Avengers had moved on from that, had moved into a palace-like mansion. And Loki was living among them.

"How could Tony allow this to happen?", asked Steve baffled.

"I mean, I'm not surprised about _that_. But that Thor and Bruce would let themselves be roped back into this?", snorted Clint, pointing at the article right next to it.

It was plastered all over the news. _The Return of the Avengers_. Thor and Bruce, standing with Rhodey, Tony and Vision – only the older Avengers in the picture, none of those new members. It was all over every single newspaper. And in the corner, a report on Loki and his house-arrest.

"This is... ridiculous", sighed Steve, sounding tired. "Bruce, siding with Ross. Those are Ross' Accords! Did Tony not tell him that? How... And accepting Loki into the headquarters!"

"Maybe Loki is mind-controlling them?", suggested Natasha thoughtfully.

Shaking his head, Steve got up and walked toward his room. He needed a moment alone. This was insane. All of those new recruits, willing to sign the Accords. But now, having Bruce and Thor back? And they would too? Had... Had Steve made a mistake? Should he have truly _read_ them? Given Tony the benefit of the doubt when he claimed that the Accords could be amended? Had they been amended...? Were these different, _better_? Was that why they signed up?

Still, all of that did still not explain Loki. No. No, Steve _knew_ he was right. He _had_ to be right. There was no way he could have been _this wrong_. Tony, he had invited a _villain_ into their home – not just any villain, one with magic who had mind-controlled one of their own before. Tony _must_ be wrong on this one, he simply must be, because he had taken Loki in and how could he possibly be right in accepting the man who had meddled with their minds into the Avengers' home.

"Steve?", asked Wanda as she knocked on the door. "Are you... joining us for dinner?"

"Yes. I'll be right there, Wanda", assured Steve, offering the girl a smile.

Wanda nodded and left the room again. Once she was outside, Steve reached for the phone hidden away under his mattress. There was only one number saved on it. The number of the phone he had sent Tony. He had been tempted to call Tony many times now.

When he had thought that Tony might regret his decision. When Tony had first visited Wakanda, because Steve had grown nervous about Bucky being there. When Tony hadn't called on his own for a few weeks, Steve had grown more weary about it, tempted to call first.

Then, when new Avengers had joined the team. He had wanted to reach out, hand Tony an olive branch by congratulating him on the new team. But then he had seen how he had seemingly been _replaced_ by Captain Marvel. And he was, honestly mostly, confused.

Right now, he was torn between yelling at Tony for accepting Loki in and demanding to speak to Thor and Bruce. In the end, he decided against both. It was no longer his place, was it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I time Wanda's entrance well enough to whack anyone aside from Steve over the head with it? ;D Though, in all honestly. I hope I do bring Steve's point across well enough because I don't mean to villainize them, I think from where he stands and the facts he has in this current situation, he has a right to doubt. (It's just a little hypocritical considering, well, WANDA)
> 
> ANYWAY other thing! I have a question and would like some feedback from you guys on it. I'm thinking about changing the Rhodey/Carol ship, due to "Captain Marvel" because I loved the movie. I'm thinking of Rhodey/Carol/Maria, with Carol/Maria already being married (as a surprise to the team!) and Monica being Rhodey/Maria's daughter from a one-night-stand long ago, ultimately leading to a proper OT3 in this fic. What do you think?

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was born out of a game of Fake Fic Titles I played on tumblr. Come visit me at [takaraphoenix](https://takaraphoenix.tumblr.com/) for teasings, headcanons or to bitch with me about shit.
> 
> And as with all my fics, **you can find it on my updating schedule on my profile** to see when it'll be updated next. ;)


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